Kessel traded to Penguins
- Thread starter GhostofPotvin29
- Start date
LuncheonMeat
New member
Bullfrog said:
That's a nice compilation. I'll never get tired of watching that goal against NJ where he undresses most of the team.
Bullfrog said:
I don't know if they'll ever have 3-straight top-10 scoring finishes like Phil did, but hopefully Marner and Nylander will get us out of our seats on more than a few occasions soon.
Highlander
Active member
Just watched Glen Campbell's Alzheimer's documentary on CNN.
I think now when I watch Phil scoring goal after goal I am going to have to sing:
I'm not going to miss you. Or it may just hurt to much. :'(
I think now when I watch Phil scoring goal after goal I am going to have to sing:
I'm not going to miss you. Or it may just hurt to much. :'(
Puerto Rico Suave
New member
This trade isn't sitting well with me. I can't get past that we're losing cap room for 7 years. I know it's probably less than 2% of the cap by the time we're competitive but it could still be the difference between signing a high-end 4th liner vs going with an AHL org guy.
They sold at extreme low on Kessel. I would rather they had either looked for a trade that didn't involve eating cap space or else just kept him for another year. I doubt his value will be worse next summer. And I don't give much credit to the notion that Kessel hurts the tank next year since even finishing dead means only a 50/50 chance of getting a top 3 pick and the higher ranked teams have better opportunities to move up in the draft.
I guess you could argue that he'll poison the team or something if he stays, but in my opinion he can't drop much lower than his performance last year.
They sold at extreme low on Kessel. I would rather they had either looked for a trade that didn't involve eating cap space or else just kept him for another year. I doubt his value will be worse next summer. And I don't give much credit to the notion that Kessel hurts the tank next year since even finishing dead means only a 50/50 chance of getting a top 3 pick and the higher ranked teams have better opportunities to move up in the draft.
I guess you could argue that he'll poison the team or something if he stays, but in my opinion he can't drop much lower than his performance last year.
Highlander
Active member
I loved Phil Kessel and his pure sniper ability that excitement will be dearly missed when he had the puck in the offensive zone. But he had to go and he had to go now. Babcock is not one to negotiate on what he demands of his players and Phil being Phil was not going to change. If he had stayed Babcock would have been undermined even before he begins to shape this team.
So you take what you get, stop crying and move on. Or at Tony Sorprano would say "Forgetaboutit"
So you take what you get, stop crying and move on. Or at Tony Sorprano would say "Forgetaboutit"
hockeyfan1
New member
herman said:
Good article. Well written.
Even though "Mahalvich" as Imlach used to deliberately mispronounced his name, make that Mahovlich, who was disliked in part by Leafs fans as stated, the Big M was one of the few Leafs of his era who could make people stand up out of their seats as he cruised that left wing with elan and style. As my brother used to tell me, only the way Mahovlich could.
i still remember being told that after the Big M was traded to Detroit, my Aunt cried for a week. (*laughing*)
i was born when the Leafs were busy winning their four Stanley Cups, so I have told stories, watched films and read books on that glorious decade.
Glory days, alright.
(*sigh*) When will we have ours?]
Kin
New member
Puerto Rico Suave said:
Well, it's already less than 1.7% of the cap right now so unless you think there's a legitimate chance that the cap shrinks between now and then I don't really think there's a "probably" there.
But also I don't really think there's a chance that eating Kessel's money will have any kind of effect on building the team. If you look at the Chicago or LA models there was a pretty decent gap between when the teams got competitive and when the teams were pressed up against the cap. Having good young players on manageable contracts means you'll have room to pay 4th liners. Where teams get sticky is when you have to start paying your franchise players market rates but that's probably more than 7 years away in the Leafs case.
mr grieves
New member
Nik the Trik said:
Was listening to the Mirtle-Siegel podcast today. It was pointed out that they've still got the Gunnarsson salary retention on the books for another season. It's a very small amount, but it eats another one of the three salaries they're allowed to retain.
So, that leaves one (until next season), and they've still got Lupul, Bozak, and Phaneuf to unload. They're older than Kessel, not as good, and on worse contracts. So, hard to believe trading partners won't expect those to be retained.
GhostofPotvin29
New member
mr grieves said:
Just because salary was retained in Kessel's case doesn't make these players unmoveable without retaining salary. If Leafs are able to take a contract back that they couldn't in the Kessel deal then there wouldn't have to be. Salary retention isn't necessarily a reflection of quality or not of the player.
Puerto Rico Suave said:
Whether you or I argue that he would poison the team is sort of irrelevant at this point. In analyzing this trade you have to accept that Shanahan did not want him and obviously Babcock did not want him around either. On top of that, it appears that they really only had one serious trading partner to work with.
You can dislike the trade all you want, but saying that they should have got more for him is ignoring the realities of this situation. They wanted Kessel gone and not a lot of teams were looking to add an $8 million player.
Ah man guys The Onion really nailed this article on Kapanen/Kessel today:
Kasperi Kapanen has already bettered one of Phil Kessel?s Maple Leafs streaks.
The youngster consented to a mass media gathering outside the dressing room at the MasterCard Centre, back to the wall and no escape route. In those few times Kessel was compelled to talk at the practice rink, it was always inside at his stall, one eye on the sanctity of the player lounge.
Not that this matters to those who value scoring goals ahead of sound bytes. That differential will stay in Kessel?s favour for some time in the wake of the six-player, multi-draft-pick trade with Pittsburgh.
http://www.torontosun.com/2015/07/07/leafs-prospect-kapanen-outdoes-kessel-already
Kasperi Kapanen has already bettered one of Phil Kessel?s Maple Leafs streaks.
The youngster consented to a mass media gathering outside the dressing room at the MasterCard Centre, back to the wall and no escape route. In those few times Kessel was compelled to talk at the practice rink, it was always inside at his stall, one eye on the sanctity of the player lounge.
Not that this matters to those who value scoring goals ahead of sound bytes. That differential will stay in Kessel?s favour for some time in the wake of the six-player, multi-draft-pick trade with Pittsburgh.
http://www.torontosun.com/2015/07/07/leafs-prospect-kapanen-outdoes-kessel-already
LuncheonMeat
New member
Frank E said:
Mirtle wrote a pretty good article about this the other day. GMs are locking up their young stars as they enter their prime rather than overspending on veteran players on the decline/UFA.
The reality, too, is that GMs are increasingly wary of giving long-term pacts to older players given the dramatic falloff for the likes of Mike Richards, Vinny Lecavalier, Alexander Semin, Dany Heatley and others while playing on enormous deals.
The ?smart? money is on young players such as Saad and Hamilton, who have established themselves at a young age and who will play all six years of their new deals in their prime. They?re still getting better, even as their cap hits will decrease relative to a rising cap.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/globe-on-hockey/mirtle-nhl-grapples-with-death-of-the-bridge-contract-as-young-stars-get-paid/article25311560/
Puerto Rico Suave
New member
Michael said:
I suppose I'm saying two things.
(1) The return feels low and I suspect waiting would have been better. I dunno. Maybe, maybe not. But just because Babcock and Shanahan want him gone, it doesn't mean you need to ship him out July 1st. I bet they want to move Lupul too and yet he is still here.
(2) Let's say theoretically July 1st happened to be his maximum value. We still should have tried to work something out where we don't retain cap space, even if that means accepting less in terms of prospects or picks coming our way. All these little cap hits add up.