Kessel signs long term extension (8 yrs, 64M, 8M AAV)

[Joe S.]

I made the mistake of listening to a call in show after 7pm on the FAN yesterday, and it's good to hear that the good fans of Toronto are still nuts.

One caller said, and obviously I'm paraphrasing, that:

• Kessel is way too streaky, he went 14 games this season without an assist
• He is way overpaid, his salary should be reserved for the true 2 way players like Ovechkin (yes, he actually said this)
• Sure he's awesome and he scores alot, but he's just not worth the money
• The Leafs could have done alot better with that money

Leafs fans should just enjoy watching the fact that they finally have one of those players that is pure talent. The closest I've ever seen a player like that wear a Leafs uniform was a hobbled Mogilny. I'm as big a Sundin fan as there is, as talented as he was, alot of what he accomplished was just hard work...

The only thing that depresses me about Kessel is imagining how awesome it would have been to have Sundin and Kessel together.

 

[Corn Flake]

OH man. Never listen to those shows.

Next time, break your radio before it's too late.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

• I made the mistake of listening to a call in show after 7pm on the FAN yesterday, and it's good to hear that the good fans of Toronto are still nuts.
  
  One caller said, and obviously I'm paraphrasing, that:
  
  

  • Kessel is way too streaky, he went 14 games this season without an assist
  • He is way overpaid, his salary should be reserved for the true 2 way players like Ovechkin (yes, he actually said this)
  • Sure he's awesome and he scores alot, but he's just not worth the money
  • The Leafs could have done alot better with that money

  
  Leafs fans should just enjoy watching the fact that they finally have one of those players that is pure talent. The closest I've ever seen a player like that wear a Leafs uniform was a hobbled Mogilny. I'm as big a Sundin fan as there is, as talent as he was, alot of what he accomplished was just hard work...
  
  The only thing that depresses me about Kessel is imagining how awesome it would have been to have Sundin and Kessel together.

I imagine most radio callers to believe this:

Kessel's too one-dimensional.

Next breath: Leafs need more guys like Tim Gleason and Mark Fraser.

 

[Joe S.]

OH man. Never listen to those shows.

Next time, break your radio before it's too late.

yeah - I remembered why I stopped listening to the FAN after that call.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Early contender for article of the year:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/leafs-beat/mirtle-secrets-of-kessels-success-include-unique-stick-and-deceptive-strength/article16677523/

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Early contender for article of the year:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/leafs-beat/mirtle-secrets-of-kessels-success-include-unique-stick-and-deceptive-strength/article16677523/

Bro.

No but it is very good, it deserves multiple posts.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Bro.

No but it is very good, it deserves multiple posts.

Ah, I tuned out of this thread a bit when the Seguin-Kessel talk intensified, and then I thought the article was posted this morning not last night.

But yeah, I feel like posting this in every thread.

 

[Corn Flake]

OH man. Never listen to those shows.

Next time, break your radio before it's too late.

yeah - I remembered why I stopped listening to the FAN after that call.

There is basically nothing worth listening to on the FAN or on TSN 1050 anymore. I tune into Bob sometimes when he has good co-hosts like Brunt, but when it's John Shannon I can't take 10 seconds of it.

Now Brady and Walker in the morning could be good... if it was just Walker.

 

[ZBBM]

Early contender for article of the year:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/leafs-beat/mirtle-secrets-of-kessels-success-include-unique-stick-and-deceptive-strength/article16677523/

Bro.

No but it is very good, it deserves multiple posts.

Excellent article.

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

I made the mistake of listening to a call in show after 7pm on the FAN yesterday, and it's good to hear that the good fans of Toronto are still nuts.

One caller said, and obviously I'm paraphrasing, that:

• Kessel is way too streaky, he went 14 games this season without an assist
• He is way overpaid, his salary should be reserved for the true 2 way players like Ovechkin (yes, he actually said this)
• Sure he's awesome and he scores alot, but he's just not worth the money
• The Leafs could have done alot better with that money

Oh, yeah, I heard that one, too.  To their credit, at least the hosts pounced all over the Ovechkin 2-way assertion.  I couldn't listen a whole lot longer.  People with moderate measured opinions are rarely the ones compelled to call in to these shows.  I heard some guy a few weeks ago leading off his critique of Phaneuf by talking about his wearing a Red Bull cap in a post-game interview.

Unfortunately, I think the select type of people who choose to make their voices heard this way really skew the perceptions of the Leaf fan populace among many in the media.

 

[Corn Flake]

I heard some guy a few weeks ago leading off his critique of Phaneuf by talking about his wearing a Red Bull cap in a post-game interview.

And Feschuck wrote a whole piece on it.  Maybe it was him who called in.

Or "Ian from Etobicoke"???!!

 

[Zee]

I heard some guy a few weeks ago leading off his critique of Phaneuf by talking about his wearing a Red Bull cap in a post-game interview.

And Feschuck wrote a whole piece on it.  Maybe it was him who called in.

Or "Ian from Etobicoke"???!!

Ian from Etobicoke...great reference.  ;D ;D

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

I heard some guy a few weeks ago leading off his critique of Phaneuf by talking about his wearing a Red Bull cap in a post-game interview.

And Feschuck wrote a whole piece on it.  Maybe it was him who called in.

Or "Ian from Etobicoke"???!!

Wow, I had been blissfully unaware of that article.  But looking up about it, Greg Wyshynski's got a great response:

Dion Phaneuf is a bad captain because he wears a Red Bull hat: Report

 

[Corn Flake]

I heard some guy a few weeks ago leading off his critique of Phaneuf by talking about his wearing a Red Bull cap in a post-game interview.

And Feschuck wrote a whole piece on it.  Maybe it was him who called in.

Or "Ian from Etobicoke"???!!

Wow, I had been blissfully unaware of that article.  But looking up about it, Greg Wyshynski's got a great response:

Dion Phaneuf is a bad captain because he wears a Red Bull hat: Report

Yes that was a pretty good response.  He took more shots at Peddie - and deservedly so - than Feschuck but both took their lumps and that makes me smile.  It's hilarious and pathetic to watch Peddie become a media kiss-arse now that he needs them to help promote his book.  Extra ironic was this piece since Feschuck co-wrote a book about how screwed up the Leafs were and I presume Peddie criticism is very much a part of it.

 

[Optimus Reimer]

One of the best ways to evaluate any trade is to determine if the teams involved would reverse the trade now.  I know it is impossible to do that since Seguin is now with Dallas, but if a GM offered Seguin + Hamilton + Knight for Kessel I think Nonis would tell that GM he needs to offer more than that, and even to the point that Kessel is not available at any price.  So early on it looked like the Leafs got burned in the trade, but after seeing the results, the Leafs burned the Bruins on that one considering Seguin is no longer with the Bruins.

 

[Kin]

So early on it looked like the Leafs got burned in the trade, but after seeing the results, the Leafs burned the Bruins on that one considering Seguin is no longer with the Bruins.

Except Seguin turned into some pretty valuable pieces for the Bruins. So I don't see that they would have any reason at all to feel burned.

 

[moon111]

I would be willing to trade a few 'valuable' pieces for a top 5 scorer.

 

[Corn Flake]

So early on it looked like the Leafs got burned in the trade, but after seeing the results, the Leafs burned the Bruins on that one considering Seguin is no longer with the Bruins.

Except Seguin turned into some pretty valuable pieces for the Bruins. So I don't see that they would have any reason at all to feel burned.

I think it's fair to call it a good trade for both teams in the end.  Leafs got a franchise player out of it and the Bruins got two solid young talents, one of which they have parlayed into some useful pieces going forward.  Boston now has a lot of nice looking chips from the deal and the Leafs have the best player from the deal.

 

[Kin]

Boston now has a lot of nice looking chips from the deal and the Leafs have the best player from the deal.

I suppose I'm a little less impressed with that considering he's also the only player from the deal.

 

[Coco-puffs]

Ultimately, I think the mistake Burke made was to not take the original offer at the 2009 draft:

Kaberle and the 1st Rounder in 2009 (Kadri) for Kessel

Had we made that trade, we would have been without Kaberle in 2009-2010, and probably worse for it.  However, Burke didn't want to tank and misjudged the capabilities of the team that year.

We'd probably have Kessel, Seguin*, Hamilton on the roster today (barring any other moves), and wouldn't have Kadri or Tyler Biggs (the Leafs used the 1st rounder from Boston in 2011- from the Kaberle trade- along with another pick to move up and get Biggs).

I'd much rather have Seguin and Hamilton over Kadri, Biggs, and whatever Joe Colborne netted us.

* assuming we live in a vacuum and still ended up with the 2nd overall pick that year