Since this morning I documented Phil Kessel’s Sunday comments about his disappointment in being dropped to Toronto’s third line, it’s only fair that I bring you Kessel’s second-day, cover-his-rear quotes from today.

As reported by The Globe & Mail’s Jame Mirtle, Kessel today had this to say:

“Obviously I love Toronto, I want to be here. I love the city, I love the fans, I love the team. The guys are great here. I don’t want any trade or anything like that. I want to be here for a very long time. I love it here.

“Obviously I’m frustrated. The way it’s going right now, we’re not winning, I need to be better out there. I’ve had opportunities, I need to score, so obviously I’m frustrated, right? But in no sense did I ever mean I wanted a trade. I think when someone asks the question ‘what do you think about your new line?’ that’s what I meant. It was taken out of context, I guess.”

Kessel hasn’t scored in 10 games. If you’re from the school of thought that believes what you say first in the heat of the moment is probably closer to the truth, then you’d discount today’s comments. Regardless, you can’t blame Kessel for realizing he’s signed by the Leafs for three more seasons after this so be better make nice.

And frankly, if the thought of Phil Kessel getting up in front of the team and delivering a speech doesn’t make your chuckle, you need a sense-of-humor transplant.