There's no way 5 OV is on the board, let alone plus, for Kessel. We're talking a 30-year-old winger here.
I don't see much leverage on the Pens part. To start, there can only be 8 potential bidders based on Kessel's NTC. If memory serves, the Pens were the only bidder last time around, which is why they get him cheap, relatively speaking. Here were the 8 teams on his list last time around:
Montreal
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
NY Rangers
Boston
Chicago
Los Angeles
Minnesota
If we assume the list is the same, and I admit that's a big assumption, what are the options? (Slotting AZ in place of Pitt.)
Pens aren't moving him to Philly. Hawks don't have cap space and NYR are doing their rebuild. So you're down to 5. And is Montreal a real player in this? So maybe 4 teams now.
And that's without even looking at cap space. How many of those remaining teams can take Kessel at 6.8? Kings are a little tight cap wise. So you're down to Arizona, Boston, Minnesota. And we haven't even touched on the fact that Boston probably doesn't want him back. For Arizona, there might be a cash problem with adding Kessel, but they're one of few teams who could take on his full cap and not even blink.
Last time around, the thinking was Kessel would get a big return, but the deal was:
Kessel
Tim Erixon
Tyler Biggs
2016 2nd
Nick Spaling
Kasperi Kapanen
Scott Harrington
2016 1st
2016 3rd
So after you weed out the crap you've got Kessel for a very low first and an A/B prospect in Kapanen who was sort of flailing at the time.
Yes, some things have changed since that deal. Kessel is a 2-time Cup championship and he's coming off a career 90-pt season. But he's also 3 years older, and he's also pissed off another coach. It's not exactly a secret that Sullivan would probably prefer that he gets moved.
I just don't see much leverage for Pitt here based on Kessel's history, the past deal, and the restrictions of his contract.