A wise man once told me that the ocean is always calm before the storm and this is what we have here with the Phil Kessel situation. Mum is the word on Causeway St. and one can only wonder what Peter Chiarelli is going to do moving forward. There are a few options here.
1.) Phil Kessel signs a low-ball deal under the $1.3 million that the Bruins have available under the cap (if this happens Satan skates to work from that point on).
2.) Another move is made to clear cap space to sign the Bruins top goal scorer (see: Aaron Ward/Derek Morris).
3.) Kessel gets packaged in a trade because the Bruins know they are out of options and want to get some kind of tangible value for him this season.
4.) Kessel signs a qualifying offer sheet from an opposing team and the Bruins get draft picks.
Those are primarily the options right there. I, and everyone else wondering, truly have zero clue as to what Chiarelli & Co. are planning as they run a tight ship over there at the TD Garden. That is a true sign of a strong and stable front office. My gut feeling is that option two happens. Chiarelli has expressed in the past that he would love to keep the rising star in Boston and I truly believe he feels that way. Kessel's all around game is progressing and he is still just 21 years old. Chiarelli needs to find a way to keep him in Boston.
What does your gut tell you?
-McKeon
23 comments:
Kessel must be signed. Per my calculations we have $1.8M in cap space so in order to accomodate your option #2 I think that PC should trade Ferrence ($1.4M) and Kobasew ($2.33M) thereby resulting in $5.53M in available cap space. Kessel should be signed $11M or $12M over 3 years - about the same as Krecji. A cap hit of $4M for Kessel would still leave PC with $1.33M in cap space, about the same he has right now.
Kessel can't even get back on the ice until December, so I don't think the Bruins care too much about getting him signed right now, It's not as if Kessel is contemplating a bunch of offer sheets here either. If Sturm or Ryder or Bergy or anyone gets hurt before they sign Kessel they suddenly have more cap space, due to the LTI. Kessel, if he is not traded, will sign a 1 or 2 year contract with the Bruins. And they will not move a forward to do it.
He will sign it in Oct, Nov, or Dec
I like the thought however, there is only $1.3 million to play with right now (see the sidebar on the right). I think the most logical trade scenario would be one guy getting moved with no money coming back (god forbid it be another buyout) and give Kessel a one year deal and take care of him at the end of the season. Or, if her performs well, he could get an extension mid-season. Something along those lines...
Frankie, I believe Kessel needs to be signed by Nov 1st regardless of injury...I may be incorrect but, I do believe I've heard this recently
I honestly do not think that PC will let Kessel go unsigned until after the season starts. I also do not believe that they will lo ball him. The Bruins pride themselves in being a great organization to play for & if they stoop to that level they have no class or respect - just like the Habs. The Canadiens did the same with Ryder for years - showing no respect & lo-balling him. Kessel will score 30+ this season again & I expect that Ryder will as well. Sturm will get his usual 20+. We need Kessel's offence this year as we will not sneak up on anybody this year and teams will be prepared to play us. Moreover I think that Thomas may have a dropoff - it is too much to expect that he can duplicate last season's performance. We need #81.
I am torn. It doesn't appear the negotiations are going that well. I have a feeling Kessel will be traded. I am not saying I want him traded because he has so much potential. On the other hand i don't think he fits the mold of this team which is hard hitting, in your face type hockey. Time will tell. I do think the team looks good andthere is so some good prospects in providence. Can't wait for next season.
I agree that Kessel is not your typical 'in-your face' , 'gritty', 'bruin-type' hockey player we so much admire & appreciate. However he is a gifted player who at only 21 scored 36 goals and missed part of the season. His upside far outweighs his downside. With more maturity and experience he will be one of the elite goal scorers in the league sort of like Mogilny was. The Bruins have plenty of sandpaper to protect him & for these reasons I think it is important for PC to sign him rather than trade him.
ekland says kessel to san jose.
Just because Phil Kessel isn't the prototype that this organization covets so much does not mean that they don't think highly of him. If a team is built solely on that big/strong/fast prototype and that's all you have, you'll never go anywhere...when the organization says they want to become harder to play against by way of bigger, stronger, and faster players they mean as a whole, not for every individual player.
Kessel will be here and Eklund is an absolute joke even though I chceck his site all the time...lol
I also wanted to say thank you to those who have been visiting so often and those who have been commenting. It has been great so far and my writing can only go so far. When you guys comment and debate it only makes the site better. Let's bring this site back to the way it was!
Thanks again guys!
dont get me wrong, i think kessel is valuable but I think you have to listen to trade offers as well, The one thing that frustrates me with kessel is his effectiveness on the forecheck. how many times has the forecheck broken down because he is soft on going in on the forecheck. It kills me. Then again, his offensive ability is hard to match, he is a natural goal scorer. On this topic i am a definite fence sitter, sorry.
reading Spectors site this morning and an apparent rumour from the New York post has the Bruins talking to two West Coast teams looking for a young roster player, prospect and draft choice for Phil Kessel. They don't say which teams are being talked to.
Even Eklund (as unreliable as he is) said a deal could happen by monday with a west coast team...maybe there is a little truth to that rumor...
They have to listen to the offers for sure. The thing I believe is Kessel seems all about himself. I know I don't know him or see the dressing room, but it is just a feeling. Maybe he doesn't fit in the mix team wise. He should take less money to stay with a good young B's team and prove his long-term worth. He does only have 1 good season under his belt. Instead, he is asking for 5 M....a lttle greedy if you ask me !?
Not sure what to think. I like what Kessel has to bring to the ice on offense, but know how he is on the defense. If they could get something to replace his goal production then I could see him gone. Otherwise I don't think they can afford to lose that production.
Just my 2 cents.
Cheechoo, Erhoff & a 1st round pick for Ferrence, Kobasew & the rights to Kessel
Just read on Hendricks Hockey that the Islanders are interested in Sturm. Anyone else hear anything about this?
i saw a comment on Sturm and Islanders the other day on spectors. He is one guy i hope stays with the Bs.
Cheechoo is more f a prototypical bruin. However I'm not quite sure about his pim. I do not follow the west very much but I think he is a bit of a loose cannon penalty wise. I know he scored a bunch 1 year but I am skeptical about him nonetheless. What about Erhoff. Is he a D? What about the #'s cap-wise? I rend to think that this is not a deal that would interest PC, but you never know.
Per one of the comments on the Spector website - 3 way deal -
to SJ - Heatley
to Ott - Marleau & Kessel
to Bos - Setogouchi & Pavelski
Not gonna happen. Setogouchi has a cap hit of $1.6 and Pavelski a hit of $1.3. All that it accomplishes is that we dump Kessel and be over the cap. Does make any sense.
Well maninblack there is one possibility. Where there is smoke there is usually fire.
The Sens covet Kessel and I can certainly see the 3 way deal working this way -
1. the bruins trade Ferrence to whomever for a draft pick freeing up $1.4M and replace him on defense with Boychuk who has a cap hit of only 0.5M. This increase the Bruins cap to $2.7M.
2. the bruins trade the rights to Kessel (zero cap hit) and Sturm ($3.5M cap hit) to SJ for Setogouchi ($1.6M cap hit) & Cheechoo ($3.3M cap hit). This leaves the Bruins with $1.3M in cap space.
3. SJ trades Marleau & Kessel & Pavelski to Ott for Heatley.
In order for this to work of course Sturm would have to waive his NTC. The Bruins get more sandpaper and lose very little, if any, in offense. The Sens get what they want - to be clear of Heatley in exchange for Marleau and they also obtain a goal scoring winger in Kessel. SJ get what they covet - Heatley without costing them as Marleau's cap hit is about the same as Heatley. Moreover they free up additional cap space by trading Setogouchi, Cheechoo & Pavelski. Right now they are desparately tight to the cap (0.899M left in cap space with 3 or 4 players to sign to complete their roster.
Trade Kessel. He is a punk. His feelings are hurt because they didn't offer him $5 mill a year. He only had a huge year beacause it was a contract year. He is terrible in the D-zone too.
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