Tank Nation UNITE!!!

[cw]

Phil was suppose to go first in his draft class but fell due to personality concerns.  What a surprise now his 2nd team is looking to get rid of him due to personality concerns.

As usual your opinions aren't even a nodding acquaintance with the truth. Boston didn't trade Kessel because of personality concerns, they traded him because they couldn't afford him.

There was a little more to it than that according to the parties involved. Like most large market teams, the Bruins had cap issues to address so that was a key factor.

There was a problem between Julien and Kessel. Chara and others backed that up.
There was the claim by Chiarelli that Kessel asked to be traded.
There was the claim that Kessel refused to accept a reasonable contract offer in order to force Boston's hand (denied by Kessel).
There was the media claim that it didn't matter what Nashville did because Kessel wanted to go to Toronto for Toronto's money.
There was the claim by Kessel that it was a mutually desired parting (denied by Chiarelli).

There's little doubt that there was much more going on with Boston-Kessel than merely a cap problem with Kessel in particular. Phil was not a happy camper in Boston - in terms of ice time, how he was being used, what was asked of him, etc. He wanted a change of scenery.

If Kessel was the likes of a 27 year old Sittler, Clark, Sundin or Gilmour, I'm not so sure they'd be in as much of a hurry to get him out of town. Now, if like 27 yr old Clark, he could bring back a 23 yr old Sundin, that's something any team might do.

Unlike those four, I think the Leafs would like to be done with Phil. I don't think he's going to be that easy to dispose of with his contract and I don't think they can move that contract quickly and get much of a talent return along with it in today's cap world.

 

[Bullfrog]

Hypothetically, if the Leafs finish 6-8, would you consider trading both first-rounders for the 4th overall to get Strome?

Not at all. Personally, I'd be pushing hard to get a third 1st rounder. More the merrier.

 

[Kin]

There was a little more to it than that according to the parties involved. Like most large market teams, the Bruins had cap issues to address so that was a key factor.

There was a problem between Julien and Kessel. Chara and others backed that up.
There was the claim by Chiarelli that Kessel asked to be traded.
There was the claim that Kessel refused to accept a reasonable contract offer in order to force Boston's hand (denied by Kessel).
There was the media claim that it didn't matter what Nashville did because Kessel wanted to go to Toronto for Toronto's money.
There was the claim by Kessel that it was a mutually desired parting (denied by Chiarelli).

There's little doubt that there was much more going on with Boston-Kessel than merely a cap problem with Kessel in particular. Phil was not a happy camper in Boston - in terms of ice time, how he was being used, what was asked of him, etc. He wanted a change of scenery.

None of that, though detracts from the fundamental point. Boston wanted to keep him. They offered him a long term contract. Realistically, they couldn't offer him the kind of contract he wanted or that a 21 year old 36 goal scorer realistically deserved. I have no doubt that at various points the relationship became strained for various reasons but they 100% did not want to deal Kessel because they didn't like his personality.

Unlike those four, I think the Leafs would like to be done with Phil. I don't think he's going to be that easy to dispose of with his contract and I don't think they can move that contract quickly and get much of a talent return along with it in today's cap world.

I don't fundamentally disagree except I don't think the Leafs arrived at that decision because they don't like Kessel's personality. I think they want to move on from him because they know they have to rebuild and that involves trading players like him.

 

[Rebel_1812]

Phil was suppose to go first in his draft class but fell due to personality concerns.  What a surprise now his 2nd team is looking to get rid of him due to personality concerns.

As usual your opinions aren't even a nodding acquaintance with the truth. Boston didn't trade Kessel because of personality concerns, they traded him because they couldn't afford him. The Leafs, if they do trade him, won't be trading him for "personality concerns", it'll be because they're rebuilding.

Actually it is the truth, though with your bourgeois arguing you may find it hard to see the truth.  If boston liked phil they would have resigned him and traded away someone else.  Why else would you trade a young 30 goal scorer?  It is because there are other issues that make him undesirable.  Phaneuf too was traded because he wasn't liked in the calgary dressing room.

 

[Kessel Run]

I'd be happy with someone like Iginla. He went 11th overall.

Wow, what a draft year (1995) that was:

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1995e.html

Bryan Berard 1st overall, Aki Berg 3rd overall, and Chad Kilger 4th.  Toronto snagged Jeff Ware with the 15th pick, who went on to play 21 NHL games and chipped in with 1 assist.  Five of the guys in the top 11 have played over 1000 NHL games.

So many players who went on to play in the Leafs organization from that draft year. Bryan Berard, Aki Berg, Chad Kilger, Terry Ryan, JS Giguere, Jeff Ware, Marc Moro, Don McLean, DJ Smith, Dwayne Hay, Nathan Perrott, Ryan Pepperall, JS Aubin, Alyn McCauley, Mike Minard, Vesa Toskala, Yannick Tremblay, Clarke Wilm, Stephane Robidas, Danny Markov, etc.

 

[TML fan]

Phil was suppose to go first in his draft class but fell due to personality concerns.  What a surprise now his 2nd team is looking to get rid of him due to personality concerns.

As usual your opinions aren't even a nodding acquaintance with the truth. Boston didn't trade Kessel because of personality concerns, they traded him because they couldn't afford him. The Leafs, if they do trade him, won't be trading him for "personality concerns", it'll be because they're rebuilding.

Actually it is the truth, though with your bourgeois arguing you may find it hard to see the truth.  If boston liked phil they would have resigned him and traded away someone else.  Why else would you trade a young 30 goal scorer?  It is because there are other issues that make him undesirable.  Phaneuf too was traded because he wasn't liked in the calgary dressing room.

I dunno man it's pretty bourgeois of you to declare something the truth when you can't possibly have all the facts because the truth of that kind of situation never gets reported with 100% accuracy.

 

[Chris]

Hey lets give the heat on our best pure sniper since Mogliny a rest. I have been to several Loaf games in the last few years and in my opinion (at least in the games I was at), I watch Kessel bust his ass up and done the ice all night, in both ends.
Lets give him a "get out of Jail" card for next season and pair him with a good centre and see 50 goals, not 30. We gave up to much to get Phil, so lets get him a Centre to play with and see JVR and him pile ups some points.
All this Kessel bashing is getting real boring.

As boring as watching Kessel's lethargic, uninspired play?

Here's a serious question for anyone who has been to any of the last 40 or so games. What is Kessel doing on his shifts? Is he skating around lazily, is he expending lots of energy but doing it inefficiently, what? TV only gives one a limited view.

What I see (from TV, I don't live near Toronto and can't get to games), is a guy who is way too often taking the easy way out...an offensive foray which results in an easy to stop shot attempt from far out or from a bad angle...followed by half-hearted attempts to retrieve the puck (i.e. waving his stick as the opponent skates by). He doesn't look like he is expending much energy most of the time, yet he looks completely exhausted and barely able to make it to the bench at the end of each shift.

Is that a distorted view or is that how it appears to those of you who attend games?

 

[TML fan]

You expend a lot of energy playing defence and since his entire line is abysmal without the puck, guess what they're doing most of the time? I would imagine that in order to accelerate at the rate he does he would expend more energy as well.

He does loaf around a lot though, but no more than JVR or Lupul in my opinion.

 

[cw]

There was a little more to it than that according to the parties involved. Like most large market teams, the Bruins had cap issues to address so that was a key factor.

There was a problem between Julien and Kessel. Chara and others backed that up.
There was the claim by Chiarelli that Kessel asked to be traded.
There was the claim that Kessel refused to accept a reasonable contract offer in order to force Boston's hand (denied by Kessel).
There was the media claim that it didn't matter what Nashville did because Kessel wanted to go to Toronto for Toronto's money.
There was the claim by Kessel that it was a mutually desired parting (denied by Chiarelli).

There's little doubt that there was much more going on with Boston-Kessel than merely a cap problem with Kessel in particular. Phil was not a happy camper in Boston - in terms of ice time, how he was being used, what was asked of him, etc. He wanted a change of scenery.

None of that, though detracts from the fundamental point. Boston wanted to keep him.

I disagree. If they really wanted to keep him, he'd still be playing there. They would have solved the grievances and moved out other bodies.

They offered him a long term contract. Realistically, they couldn't offer him the kind of contract he wanted or that a 21 year old 36 goal scorer realistically deserved.

They had to offer him a contract or entertain a contract at some point in the near future (at the time) because he was their restricted free agent asset lacking a contract: a #5 overall pick. They didn't want to lose that for nothing, etc. Nor did they want to compromise his perceived value in the event they had to or wanted to trade him.

I have no doubt that at various points the relationship became strained for various reasons but they 100% did not want to deal Kessel because they didn't like his personality.

"Personality" may not be the greatest choice of words but I think it loosely connects to a key issue with Phil.

Bruins hockey since before Bobby Orr has typically been two way with many of their players playing a physical brand. Two of a very few past notable Bruins that may not appear to have fit that might be Bucyk and Ratelle but Bucyk was a hitter and played two ways while Ratelle was good two ways like Keon and a defensive center for Team Canada in '72 ('nuff said there).

Phil's brand of hockey involves virtually no hitting or shot blocking. And his consistency appears to fluctuate with when he's in the mood to battle for a puck or backcheck. He's a quick perimeter player seemingly interested in one thing: scoring goals while paying a minimal physical or defensive price to do so.

So maybe that isn't his entire "personality" but it has been demonstrated over the years to be his on ice "hockey personality" and it irritated coach Julien (who benched Kessel/made him a healthy scratch in the playoffs) and some of the Bruins and others who have played with Phil in the past (see media around the time he was drafted and why he dropped from #1 overall).
http://ndgoon.blogspot.ca/2006/07/espn-kessels-draft-combine-wasnt.html
http://www.russianhockey.us/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=print_topic;f=11;t=000527
https://eastlake.wordpress.com/2005/12/22/world-junior-championship/
And it obviously irritated Leafs coach Wilson who spoke about it recently, etc.

Chara weighed in on it:
Boston Globe link
During Chara?s tenure as captain, two of the Bruins? most highly skilled young players, Phil Kessel and Seguin, were widely perceived as ill fits with the club. Both were eventually traded, Kessel to Toronto and Seguin to Dallas. In both cases, said Chara, he, like Chiarelli and coach Claude Julien, had numerous discussions with the players, underscoring the team concept and what was expected on and off the ice.

?It comes to personal sacrifices you have to make or are willing to give up,?? said Chara, speaking specifically about Kessel and Seguin. ?And it?s not always easy to do. I know they are good people. Obviously, really talented, great players. But sometimes you do have to make sacrifices and be willing to do ? or not to do ? certain things. And perhaps it was maybe harder than they thought it would be, and . . . it didn?t work.??

Kessel may well say "I didn't ask to be traded" and be literally accurate but figuratively, the team wasn't going to put up with Kessel continually rejecting making "sacrifices" and continually  not doing "certain things" they wanted him to do.

Now, we can pick apart the semantics of "personality" but the fact is, the Bruins actions spoke louder than words in response to Kessel not responding to their wishes. The Bruins traded his butt out of their locker room for the reasons their captain stated above. And the Bruins have a Cup to prove they made the right decision.

Unlike those four, I think the Leafs would like to be done with Phil. I don't think he's going to be that easy to dispose of with his contract and I don't think they can move that contract quickly and get much of a talent return along with it in today's cap world.

I don't fundamentally disagree except I don't think the Leafs arrived at that decision because they don't like Kessel's personality. I think they want to move on from him because they know they have to rebuild and that involves trading players like him.

I think they've reach a similar place the Bruins reached with him. He's a one dimensional player and a frequent motivation enigma for a coach who has thrown in the towel on this season.

The Leafs seem to be experiencing pretty close to what the Bruins saw and those around the time of his draft saw lacking in Kessel. That's a hard thing to continue to invest $64 mil in.

It's one thing to see a young kid doing this when he's drafted. And one can cut some slack for a young player, trading for him hoping a change of scenery and/or maturity will correct the issue. But he's 27 now, in his first year of a $64 mil deal, into his 4th NHL coach and this stuff continues - he's quit on the season? Bad news for the Leafs. Really bad news. All they can do now is cut their losses. It's not a foundation one can build a team around. I've never seen a hockey team win a league championship with a guy like this as a key figure. And I think that's what the Leafs have concluded.

 

[Al14]

I think they've reach a similar place the Bruins reached with him. He's a one dimensional player and a frequent motivation enigma for a coach who has thrown in the towel on this season.

The Leafs seem to be experiencing pretty close to what the Bruins saw and those around the time of his draft saw lacking in Kessel. That's a hard thing to continue to invest $64 mil in.

It's one thing to see a young kid doing this when he's drafted. And one can cut some slack for a young player, trading for him hoping a change of scenery and/or maturity will correct the issue. But he's 27 now, in his first year of a $64 mil deal, into his 4th NHL coach and this stuff continues - he's quit on the season? Bad news for the Leafs. Really bad news. All they can do now is cut their losses. It's not a foundation one can build a team around. I've never seen a hockey team win a league championship with a guy like this as a key figure. And I think that's what the Leafs have concluded.

I just hope that despite the fact the Leafs are going to be just trying to cut their losses, and move on from Kessel, that they'll still be able to turn him into a decent return.  Unfortunately, in the Cap world, there will be a limited number of teams able to take on that $8.0M cap hit.  We may end up getting low-balled with any potential offers this summer.

Too bad Kessel couldn't have scored his usual 30 plus goals this season.  I hope he can still make it to 30!

 

[rdowdall]

It's one thing to see a young kid doing this when he's drafted. And one can cut some slack for a young player, trading for him hoping a change of scenery and/or maturity will correct the issue. But he's 27 now, in his first year of a $64 mil deal, into his 4th NHL coach and this stuff continues - he's quit on the season? Bad news for the Leafs. Really bad news. All they can do now is cut their losses. It's not a foundation one can build a team around. I've never seen a hockey team win a league championship with a guy like this as a key figure. And I think that's what the Leafs have concluded.

But to a team that doesn't need him as a foundation piece, he may be attractive.  I think it's really hard to tell what is going to happen with Phil Kessel.  On the one hand it may go down similarly to the Luongo trade where it drags on and on and at the end of the day the trade is weird and underwhelming.  Or it could go the way of the Scott Gomez trade where the return has some value.  I mean you look at what Burke got back for Kaberle, and Kaberle all but said he would only go to Boston (NOTE:  Look at the return...not what the Leafs did with said return...but the return).

I mean if I had to hedge my bets I would lean towards the weird and underwhelming side, but at the end of the day this is a really hard deal to handicap because there are  some great pros and some horrible cons to Phil Kessel.

 

[cw]

I think they've reach a similar place the Bruins reached with him. He's a one dimensional player and a frequent motivation enigma for a coach who has thrown in the towel on this season.

The Leafs seem to be experiencing pretty close to what the Bruins saw and those around the time of his draft saw lacking in Kessel. That's a hard thing to continue to invest $64 mil in.

It's one thing to see a young kid doing this when he's drafted. And one can cut some slack for a young player, trading for him hoping a change of scenery and/or maturity will correct the issue. But he's 27 now, in his first year of a $64 mil deal, into his 4th NHL coach and this stuff continues - he's quit on the season? Bad news for the Leafs. Really bad news. All they can do now is cut their losses. It's not a foundation one can build a team around. I've never seen a hockey team win a league championship with a guy like this as a key figure. And I think that's what the Leafs have concluded.

I just hope that despite the fact the Leafs are going to be just trying to cut their losses, and move on from Kessel, that they'll still be able to turn him into a decent return.  Unfortunately, in the Cap world, there will be a limited number of teams able to take on that $8.0M cap hit.  We may end up getting low-balled with any potential offers this summer.

Too bad Kessel couldn't have scored his usual 30 plus goals this season.  I hope he can still make it to 30!

I can't see any way a NHL team takes on $8 mil/yr for another 7 years with this guy AND sends back top notch prospects/picks.

If the Leafs want talent back and to do the deal this spring/summer, like the Phaneuf deal, I think they'll have to eat some of Kessel's contract or take some bad contracts back - in order to get some young talent back.

If they elect to wait until he's maybe back to being a top 10 scorer and has fewer years outstanding on his deal, they might do better.

If I were them, I wouldn't panic. This is going to take time. I don't see a gigantic need for rushing it. I realize Kessel sulking isn't great for developing kids but he might come around some and save them from losing their shirts. They'd be selling low right now.

 

[rdowdall]

I can't see any way a NHL team takes on $8 mil/yr for another 7 years with this guy AND sends back top notch prospects/picks.

If the Leafs want talent back and to do the deal this spring/summer, like the Phaneuf deal, I think they'll have to eat some of Kessel's contract or take some bad contracts back - in order to get some young talent back.

The lure of a cup.  GM's make decisions sometimes that might come back to haunt them if they feel they are close.  Pressure to do something from the owner can also have an impact. 

If they elect to wait until he's maybe back to being a top 10 scorer and has fewer years outstanding on his deal, they might do better.

If I were them, I wouldn't panic. This is going to take time. I don't see a gigantic need for rushing it. I realize Kessel sulking isn't great for developing kids but he might come around some and save them from losing their shirts. They'd be selling low right now.

I wholeheartedly agree with this.  They can't force a round peg in to a square hole.  There is nothing that says that they have to move Kessel this offseason.  I'm sure we'd all like them too, but they don't have too.

 

[Kin]

I disagree. If they really wanted to keep him, he'd still be playing there. They would have solved the grievances and moved out other bodies.

No, because there's a difference between "wanted to keep him" and "wanted to keep him at the expense of everything else they wanted to accomplish". They also wanted to keep Lucic and Bergeron and Krejci. They also wanted to maintain some cap flexibility. Those things aren't mutually exclusive.

They had to offer him a contract or entertain a contract at some point in the near future (at the time) because he was their restricted free agent asset lacking a contract: a #5 overall pick. They didn't want to lose that for nothing, etc. Nor did they want to compromise his perceived value in the event they had to or wanted to trade him.

Offering a restricted free agent, especially a 21 year old with his resume, a bridge deal wouldn't have compromised his value nor would it have risked losing him for nothing. They could have done that and then started shopping him if they really wanted to get rid of him. There was absolutely no reason to offer him a long term contract if they didn't want him around.

Kessel may well say "I didn't ask to be traded" and be literally accurate but figuratively, the team wasn't going to put up with Kessel continually rejecting making "sacrifices" and continually  not doing "certain things" they wanted him to do.

Now, we can pick apart the semantics of "personality" but the fact is, the Bruins actions spoke louder than words in response to Kessel not responding to their wishes. The Bruins traded his butt out of their locker room for the reasons their captain stated above. And the Bruins have a Cup to prove they made the right decision.

The Bruins also traded Tyler Seguin's butt out of their locker room. Right decision? Sure doesn't look like it right now as they're struggling to score goals and he looks like one of the brightest young offensive lights in the league. Right now they sure look like dopes for their inability to bring someone that talented around. 

Anyways, it's still not a semantic issue. They didn't want to get rid of him. You say it yourself. Chiarelli denied it was a mutual parting and yet Chiarelli also claims Kessel wanted to be traded....so then if it wasn't a mutual parting according to Chiarelli and Kessel asked out then the only conclusion is Boston didn't want Kessel gone. Their actual actions, as opposed to after the fact autopsies performed by Dr. Chara, reinforce that time and again. 

It's not a foundation one can build a team around. I've never seen a hockey team win a league championship with a guy like this as a key figure. And I think that's what the Leafs have concluded.

Again, I agree. But, again, that's because of his limitations on the ice, not because he doesn't give fiery enough speeches off it.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

It's not a foundation one can build a team around. I've never seen a hockey team win a league championship with a guy like this as a key figure. And I think that's what the Leafs have concluded.

I don't even know how one can argue against or for this.  How do you disprove or prove it?  I've also never seen a team win a Cup with a player like Kessel and a poor roster around him.  Any team that wins the Cup is going to have a very strong roster with multiple key players.  Chicago has Kane and Toews - which is "built around"?  Or is it Keith?  Who is LA built around? Doughty? Kopitar? Quick?

I don't want to re-hash to old Yzerman argument, but again "I never saw a team built around Yzerman win the Cup...until they surrounded him with multiple Hall of Famers for years on end."

Why is Kessel labeled as unable to win with because he's not surrounded by better players?  I mean, Rick Nash was criticized his entire career, was unable to wring success out of poor rosters in Columbus by himself...goes to New York and they're in the Cup finals and have a chance to do so again.  Rick Nash: streaky, an Olympian, predominantly a pure goal scorer, a total of 4 playoff games in 9 seasons.  Suddenly he's a key cog in a Cup contender.

It's incredibly unfair to heap so much on Kessel's shoulders.  Fact is, no one could do more with these teams.  And it wouldn't be their faults either.

There's no need to build ridiculous narratives about being unable to win with "a guy like that."  Just say what it actually is - unable to win with a roster like that.

 

[Highlander]

Was Mogliny a key figure with the Leafs?  He was a good/great player but the key figures where Sundin, Roberts, Tucker, Belfour.  I think you have to take Kessel for what he is, a role player and his role is sniper, not field commander, not General Issamo, not the Capitano.
Put the guy with a great Centre and leaf him alone.
As mentioned at the games I have been at in the last 4 years Kessel is the one guy always busting his arse up the ice.
I want him to stay and hit the reset button with a new Centre and a new coach.
He can be a 50 goal scorer and they do not grow on trees my friends

 

[mr grieves]

It's not a foundation one can build a team around. I've never seen a hockey team win a league championship with a guy like this as a key figure. And I think that's what the Leafs have concluded.

Again, I agree. But, again, that's because of his limitations on the ice, not because he doesn't give fiery enough speeches off it.

I wonder. How many teams have gone far with a goal-scoring winger as by far their best player?

 

[rdowdall]

It's not a foundation one can build a team around. I've never seen a hockey team win a league championship with a guy like this as a key figure. And I think that's what the Leafs have concluded.

I don't even know how one can argue against or for this.  How do you disprove or prove it?  I've also never seen a team win a Cup with a player like Kessel and a poor roster around him.  Any team that wins the Cup is going to have a very strong roster with multiple key players.  Chicago has Kane and Toews - which is "built around"?  Or is it Keith?  Who is LA built around? Doughty? Kopitar? Quick?

I don't want to re-hash to old Yzerman argument, but again "I never saw a team built around Yzerman win the Cup...until they surrounded him with multiple Hall of Famers for years on end."

Why is Kessel labeled as unable to win with because he's not surrounded by better players?  I mean, Rick Nash was criticized his entire career, was unable to wring success out of poor rosters in Columbus by himself...goes to New York and they're in the Cup finals and have a chance to do so again.  Rick Nash: streaky, an Olympian, predominantly a pure goal scorer, a total of 4 playoff games in 9 seasons.  Suddenly he's a key cog in a Cup contender.

It's incredibly unfair to heap so much on Kessel's shoulders.  Fact is, no one could do more with these teams.  And it wouldn't be their faults either.

There's no need to build ridiculous narratives about being unable to win with "a guy like that."  Just say what it actually is - unable to win with a roster like that.

Rick Nash makes 8 million a year.  He couldn't have been traded.  You must be making this up.

 

[cw]

I disagree. If they really wanted to keep him, he'd still be playing there. They would have solved the grievances and moved out other bodies.

No, because there's a difference between "wanted to keep him" and "wanted to keep him at the expense of everything else they wanted to accomplish". They also wanted to keep Lucic and Bergeron and Krejci. They also wanted to maintain some cap flexibility. Those things aren't mutually exclusive.

They had to offer him a contract or entertain a contract at some point in the near future (at the time) because he was their restricted free agent asset lacking a contract: a #5 overall pick. They didn't want to lose that for nothing, etc. Nor did they want to compromise his perceived value in the event they had to or wanted to trade him.

Offering a restricted free agent, especially a 21 year old with his resume, a bridge deal wouldn't have compromised his value nor would it have risked losing him for nothing. They could have done that and then started shopping him if they really wanted to get rid of him. There was absolutely no reason to offer him a long term contract if they didn't want him around.

They did shop him. They nearly traded him at the draft - before they made any offer. But it fell apart when they debated which 1st round pick or something like that.

Then they offered Kessel a deal in late June after the draft - about 4yrs x $4mil/yr. Kessel's camp wouldn't sign because they'd lose control of his destination. Kessel's agent was going for signing an offer sheet - to maximize control of his destination and dollars. The Bruins wanted him signed so they could open up the bidding to other teams on moving him.

You're misreading why the Bruins tried to sign him. They had no long term intentions of keeping him around. They just wanted to try to maximize their return. That's all. Kessel's agent easily saw through it to exploit the offer sheet option and the Bruins just qualified him as a RFA.

Kessel may well say "I didn't ask to be traded" and be literally accurate but figuratively, the team wasn't going to put up with Kessel continually rejecting making "sacrifices" and continually  not doing "certain things" they wanted him to do.

Now, we can pick apart the semantics of "personality" but the fact is, the Bruins actions spoke louder than words in response to Kessel not responding to their wishes. The Bruins traded his butt out of their locker room for the reasons their captain stated above. And the Bruins have a Cup to prove they made the right decision.

The Bruins also traded Tyler Seguin's butt out of their locker room. Right decision? Sure doesn't look like it right now as they're struggling to score goals and he looks like one of the brightest young offensive lights in the league. Right now they sure look like dopes for their inability to bring someone that talented around. 

Anyways, it's still not a semantic issue. They didn't want to get rid of him. You say it yourself. Chiarelli denied it was a mutual parting and yet Chiarelli also claims Kessel wanted to be traded....so then if it wasn't a mutual parting according to Chiarelli and Kessel asked out then the only conclusion is Boston didn't want Kessel gone. Their actual actions, as opposed to after the fact autopsies performed by Dr. Chara, reinforce that time and again. 

Boston confirmed that they tried to trade Kessel at the draft (with the Leafs for Kaberle & a 1st rnd pick) - before discussions of Kessel's contract were started with his agent. And that was before the Kessel camp made the so-called request that the Bruins trade him.

That's what happened here. The Bruins tried to trade Kessel before they had any contract discussions. You just don't try to trade a player before discussing contract with them if you want to keep the guy. You'd do the reverse if you want the guy around: talk contract and only if it wasn't going to work out with the sides too far apart, try to move the player.

 

[TML fan]

So if the Leafs can't work out a good deal for top tier prospects and/or picks, do they keep him or just take what they can get and move on? Same with Phaneuf?