Sportsnet: Kessel and Leafs won't negotiate in-season

[Cor]

Okay, he liked Boston (he wasn't that vocal either, however Boston didn't want to pay him. His next choice was us, and we are willing to pay him.

 

[Rob11]

You do know that Kessel has said Bozak isn't his closest friend on the team right?

There is a video on the Leafs youtube account, of like 20 second "ask Kessel questions" and he said he's not sure where the talk of the bromance came from, and that Franson and MacArthur are his closest friends.

You do realize he didn't say what your trying to spin off to everyone.

Question was: When did you and Bozie become such good friends?

Answer: "I don't know everyone talks like we are the best friends in the world (says this very jokingly) But ya he's a good friend!"

Question: Other then Bozie because we know you guys have this bromance thing going on, who are you closest with?

Answer: "I'm probably closest with Clark MacArthur but i dont know those are my two buddies... And probably cody Franson"


In summary lol.

Bozak is his good friend on the team but macA and cody Franson are buddies of his also.

And he says he doesnt know where the bromance thing came from very jokingly and right after says they are good friends!

 

[Disgruntled Observer*]

So looks like Kessel will likely wait for his contract to expire before he speaks with teams about a new contract.

The very second that Kessel is a free agent, it means the leafs lost their one asset in the Kessel trade. Even if they re-sign him by throwing more money at him than any other team, it's something they could do ANYWAYS next year, even if the trade never happened.

Which means, if the leafs DO acquire Kessel as an FA this summer, we could have had Seguin, Hamilton, AND Kessel... had the trade never happened.

What a good trade that was...

 

[Phion Keneuf]

So looks like Kessel will likely wait for his contract to expire before he speaks with teams about a new contract.

The very second that Kessel is a free agent, it means the leafs lost their one asset in the Kessel trade. Even if they re-sign him by throwing more money at him than any other team, it's something they could do ANYWAYS next year, even if the trade never happened.

Which means, if the leafs DO acquire Kessel as an FA this summer, we could have had Seguin, Hamilton, AND Kessel... had the trade never happened.

What a good trade that was...

You seem more disgruntled than usual.

 

[Damisoph]

Which means, if the leafs DO acquire Kessel as an FA this summer, we could have had Seguin, Hamilton, AND Kessel... had the trade never happened.

What a good trade that was...

Bahahaha ok so that's what you're rolling with now that you can't argue we lost the trade.

It must be so tiring being angry all the time.

 

[leafstilldeath*]

I have a new theory that popped up in my head this morning while having some sweet hazel nut coffee.

How about this? What if Kessel is ticked off that he has to play with Bozak again lol. Kessel thinking "I cannot believe that goof Nonis for re-signing Bozak and now I have to play with that scrub again."

Bozak's signing was stupid to begin with anyway. What if Kessel wants to play with a better center, get a chance to not only win SC but also put up significant points. All that while getting paid what he wants from the FA market?

Oct. 1st is still not here and I hope Nonis at least initiates talks with Kessel camp. Nonis sitting on his ass gives us nothing!

 

[King Mapes]

So looks like Kessel will likely wait for his contract to expire before he speaks with teams about a new contract.

The very second that Kessel is a free agent, it means the leafs lost their one asset in the Kessel trade. Even if they re-sign him by throwing more money at him than any other team, it's something they could do ANYWAYS next year, even if the trade never happened.

Which means, if the leafs DO acquire Kessel as an FA this summer, we could have had Seguin, Hamilton, AND Kessel... had the trade never happened.

What a good trade that was...

That is some of the worst logic Ive ever seen. We have a much higher chance at signing him.if he played with us for years so you cant just assume wed get him. Not to mention Nashville.(the other team who tried getting him) might have just thrown money at him before his contract would have been up meaning he wouldnt have been an RFA.

That was just terrible logic, dude..

 

[paulster2626]

I have a new theory that popped up in my head this morning while having some sweet hazel nut coffee.

How about this? What if Kessel is ticked off that he has to play with Bozak again lol. Kessel thinking "I cannot believe that goof Nonis for re-signing Bozak and now I have to play with that scrub again."

Bozak's signing was stupid to begin with anyway. What if Kessel wants to play with a better center, get a chance to not only win SC but also put up significant points. All that while getting paid what he wants from the FA market?

Oct. 1st is still not here and I hope Nonis at least initiates talks with Kessel camp. Nonis sitting on his ass gives us nothing!

I think you need to concentrate on drinking better coffee.

 

[therealkoho]

I have a new theory that popped up in my head this morning while having some sweet hazel nut coffee.

How about this? What if Kessel is ticked off that he has to play with Bozak again lol. Kessel thinking "I cannot believe that goof Nonis for re-signing Bozak and now I have to play with that scrub again."

Bozak's signing was stupid to begin with anyway. What if Kessel wants to play with a better center, get a chance to not only win SC but also put up significant points. All that while getting paid what he wants from the FA market?

Oct. 1st is still not here and I hope Nonis at least initiates talks with Kessel camp. Nonis sitting on his ass gives us nothing!

Fire Nonis

LeafLand lives!!!

 

[InterceptSchenn]

There is a video on the Leafs youtube account, of like 20 second "ask Kessel questions" and he said he's not sure where the talk of the bromance came from, and that Franson and MacArthur are his closest friends.

the question clearly stated "Other than Bozie".

 

[613Leafer]

I really hope this is just a smoke screen put up by Kessel so that he doesnt have to answer questions throughout the year on contract talks, but taht he actually IS willing to talk contract during the season.

Because if Im Nonis... We've ALL seen GMs "trust" their star player that they have a "good relationship" with to sign a contract after the season is over, just to see them walk (Parise/Suter as the most recent examples).

Its actually quite rare for a star player to resign AFTER the deadline. Theyre almost always resigned in the summer prior (Bergeron, Datsyuk, Malkin, Letang, etc as examples), resigned during the season (Getzlaf/Perry as examples from last season), or traded during the offseaon/ nearing the deadline (Iginla, Kaberle, Burns, J. Staal, etc)...

Whenever you see a GM "trust'" a player past the deadline like that, it doesnt usually go well, at least for star players. I cant really think of any pending UFA star players that remained unsigned and untraded past the deadline that actually resigned with their club. Parise, Suter, Bouwmeester, B. Richards, Briere, Drury, Gomez, Gaborik, etc all left their respective teams. Because had they really wanted to stay, a deal would have been done. Clearly they would be a priority for management to sign, so no deal signed by the deadline is largely because of the player.

 

[InterceptSchenn]

Even if he doesn't wanna talk contract during the season, it does not stop Nonis from offering him a deal. GM's aren't dumb. Nonis knows exactly what it will take to re sign Phil. It's not like these negotiations will take forever anyway as Nonis said. Its gonna be max term, from 7.5 - 8.5 million range. In reality it really isn't a difficult negotiation. If Kessel WANTS to be a Leaf, he will be.

 

[New Liskeard]

Quite possible Kessel is happy to negotiate during the season, he just doesn't want to deal with questions on a daily basis.

 

[therealkoho]

Quite possible Kessel is happy to negotiate during the season, he just doesn't want to deal with questions on a daily basis.

bingo!

 

[achtungbaby]

So looks like Kessel will likely wait for his contract to expire before he speaks with teams about a new contract.

The very second that Kessel is a free agent, it means the leafs lost their one asset in the Kessel trade. Even if they re-sign him by throwing more money at him than any other team, it's something they could do ANYWAYS next year, even if the trade never happened.

Which means, if the leafs DO acquire Kessel as an FA this summer, we could have had Seguin, Hamilton, AND Kessel... had the trade never happened.

What a good trade that was...

This was the problem I had with the trade from the get-go. I didn't believe that the Leafs were remotely close to competing so the blowing of assets like that was completely unnecessary unless you really love your Kessel bed sheets and such. We could have waited until Kessel became a free agent or signed someone similar such as a Semin. I realize there's no guarantee that any player will reach UFA status, just like there's no guarantee any player will re-sign either, but there had to have been a better way.

 

[Warden of the North]

They were talking about this on Hockey Central the other day. Millard brought up that Kessel doesnt want to talk about and Maclean basically said "If someone wants to talk about giving you 60 million dollars, you talk about it".

 

[Rob11]

They were talking about this on Hockey Central the other day. Millard brought up that Kessel doesnt want to talk about and Maclean basically said "If someone wants to talk about giving you 60 million dollars, you talk about it".

If you also know for a fact that you will get 60 million on your next contract no matter what, then it's really not something he needs to concern himself with until the seasons over. Instead he can focus on hockey and cash in with the leafs at the end of the season.

It's pointless for him to think about it now. It's 10 months away and he's guaranteed a massive pay day.

 

[DD03]

Kessel said he doesn't talk about his contract during the season. He never said his agent won't be talking to Nonis.. They can sign it pretty much after the playoffs anyways?

 

[colchar]

So looks like Kessel will likely wait for his contract to expire before he speaks with teams about a new contract.

The very second that Kessel is a free agent, it means the leafs lost their one asset in the Kessel trade. Even if they re-sign him by throwing more money at him than any other team, it's something they could do ANYWAYS next year, even if the trade never happened.

Which means, if the leafs DO acquire Kessel as an FA this summer, we could have had Seguin, Hamilton, AND Kessel... had the trade never happened.

What a good trade that was...

You never stop do you?

 

[veedubn1]

Kessel said he doesn't talk about his contract during the season. He never said his agent won't be talking to Nonis.. They can sign it pretty much after the playoffs anyways?

It's comical that others don't get this. The negotiation (if you can even call it that) would take place over lunch and Phil's agent would shoot him a text when it's done.

Phil is correct in saying that HE won't be doing the negotiating.

 

[DD03]

It's comical that others don't get this. The negotiation (if you can even call it that) would take place over lunch and Phil's agent would shoot him a text when it's done.

Phil is correct in saying that HE won't be doing the negotiating.

Exactly. I'm sure Nonis understands there's a certain number Kessel expects, just like Kessel's agent expects a certain number from Nonis. They'll meet, there's no reason for Phil to leave when he'll get paid and stay comfortable.

 

[Stephen]

Quite possible Kessel is happy to negotiate during the season, he just doesn't want to deal with questions on a daily basis.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that if Nonis came to Kessel's people on Christmas Eve, with a contract drafted up that was for _______ million for _______ years, I don't think Kessel would be like "nah, waiting for July."

 

[Durkin67]

They were talking about this on Hockey Central the other day. Millard brought up that Kessel doesnt want to talk about and Maclean basically said "If someone wants to talk about giving you 60 million dollars, you talk about it".

While I semi-agree with this, barring an agreement on a new deal, the Leafs aren't likely the only club that will be having 60-million dollar conversations with Kessel over the next 10-11 months. I really don't believe he is thinking about the money at this point. I think he is focused on two things; the first being the work environment, and the second, and probably most important being legitimate opportunity to observe and evaluate how this Leaf team stacks up over the next few years. Above everything, I believe Kessel just wants to win. He knows he's going to get paid, and he won't have to prove anything in order to justify his asking price. It's probably quite the opposite, and it's actually the organization that needs to prove they will have a realistic chance of winning before Kessel commits long-term. I've sort of moved off of my overt criticism of Nonis' decisions over the off season, and the more I think about it, the more I am starting to see some semblance of a gameplan developing. Assuming Nonis and Arnott have had some meaningful dialogue over the last few months, I think it makes the most sense that Kessel would be holding out for one reason: he wants to see the group make some meaningful advancements this coming season and push for a deep playoff run. In order to accomplish that, Nonis would have to address some of their obvious weaknesses. You don't lose Game seven with under ten minutes to go with a warrior like Clarkson pushing back against Lucic, Horton, Boychuk, etc. Losing Bozak and his ability to win draws is manageable if you have a Dave Bolland in the mix. Mason Raymond may be a bit of a waterbug but that speed could account for some secondary scoring in the bottom six, and go far in spreading the opposition's D out further than they're comfortable with. These are all guys who know how to compete in post season, and that winning mentality is what's needed to move the needle enough to keep Kessel engaged...

 

[veedubn1]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that if Nonis came to Kessel's people on Christmas Eve, with a contract drafted up that was for _______ million for _______ years, I don't think Kessel would be like "nah, waiting for July."

Everyone knows it's going to be for 8 years... the negotiating will be over a few hundred grand.

Nonis will (and should) ask for 8 flat, Kessel will ask for Perry money and they'll land somewhere in between.

 

[Stephen]

While I semi-agree with this, barring an agreement on a new deal, the Leafs aren't likely the only club that will be having 60-million dollar conversations with Kessel over the next 10-11 months. I really don't believe he is thinking about the money at this point. I think he is focused on two things; the first being the work environment, and the second, and probably most important being legitimate opportunity to observe and evaluate how this Leaf team stacks up over the next few years. Above everything, I believe Kessel just wants to win. He knows he's going to get paid, and he won't have to prove anything in order to justify his asking price. It's probably quite the opposite, and it's actually the organization that needs to prove they will have a realistic chance of winning before Kessel commits long-term. I've sort of moved off of my overt criticism of Nonis' decisions over the off season, and the more I think about it, the more I am starting to see some semblance of a gameplan developing. Assuming Nonis and Arnott have had some meaningful dialogue over the last few months, I think it makes the most sense that Kessel would be holding out for one reason: he wants to see the group make some meaningful advancements this coming season and push for a deep playoff run. In order to accomplish that, Nonis would have to address some of their obvious weaknesses. You don't lose Game seven with under ten minutes to go with a warrior like Clarkson pushing back against Lucic, Horton, Boychuk, etc. Losing Bozak and his ability to win draws is manageable if you have a Dave Bolland in the mix. Mason Raymond may be a bit of a waterbug but that speed could account for some secondary scoring in the bottom six, and go far in spreading the opposition's D out further than they're comfortable with. These are all guys who know how to compete in post season, and that winning mentality is what's needed to move the needle enough to keep Kessel engaged...

I don't see this as a very realistic scenario at all.

These competitive types you describe usually put a lot of responsibility on themselves to lead their teams to success, (the good ones do anyway) and I think it means something for them to be the centerpiece of a winner. Look at a guy like John Tavares who is loyal to a fault to his doormat franchise. He's taking the long view and imagining himself in a Joe Sakic, Steve Yzerman type guy. Considering the whole team is built around Phil, the success of the Leafs says a lot more about him as a player than if he were to go all Marian Hossa mercenary and join a successful team elsewhere.