Through a season and a half of commitment and personal growth, Kassian has forged a new identity for himself in the eyes of the fan base. In the playoffs, he endeared himself even more to the crowd with his impactful physical play, tenacity and timely goal scoring in the first round.
Chants of "Kass-ian!" rippled through a rowdy Rogers Place on a few occasions, reaching near deafening levels.
"That was a pretty cool experience. I don't think I've ever had fans chanting my name before but it was very cool and very humbling to have a chant like that considering two years ago when I was playing against Edmonton everyone wanted me dead, Kassian quipped.
"That just shows how passionate the city of Edmonton is. If you work hard and play hard, they respect you as a player and it goes a long way so that's good to see."
The player has endeared himself to the city, and the city to him.
"I love the city of Edmonton. They've been great to me," said Kassian. "Moving forward, the team is going to get better, the hockey community is awesome and the new arena is awesome.
"It's an exciting time to be an Edmonton Oiler. The city has really embraced this team. It's fun any game going into Rogers Place and playing in front of the fans."
In addition to his goal of bring a Stanley Cup to those fans, Kassian's short-term to-do list includes, embracing his commitment to fitness, continuing to improve his penalty killing ability and coming into 2017-18 ready to be a hardworking, physical force.
"That's what I have to do to be successful personally and to have team success."