Friedman: Kessel is in play

[BHD]

I think the idea was that they'd only do it if they were also signing Tavares. I'm not sure how the order of operations works there, though. I'm guessing Minnesota makes it's moves in advance of the draft, so it'd probably have to be with a different team.

Okay. I missed that.

 

[unicornpig]

It depends. The Pens would need an established player coming back, and the Kings might not be willing to part with certain players.

toffoli

 

[unicornpig]

The Kings aren't trading Tofoli in a deal for Kessel. As a Penguin fan, that would be stupid of them to do so. They need another scoring forward with Tofoli there. Counterproductive. To be honest, I don't see a match here whatsoever. I'm not a Martinez fan and see Pearson as a third line guy to be honest. Pittsburgh needs to move on from talking with the LAK.

word is toffoli is on the block.

 

[Empoleon8771]

word is toffoli is on the block.

Source for that? That would be very intriguing if that ends up being true.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

I figured that if Minnesota were to bring in Kessel, Niederreiter would be moved for cap relief. Not only does he make a lot of money, but at that point, he's not even that big of a need anymore. It would lessen the blow on Minny's prospect pool by doing that too, if you were able to get a 1st and a prospect for Niederreiter (which doesn't seem unreasonable) and then you'd use a 1st and prospects for Kessel.

If not for Kaprizov's KHL status, I'd say just Kaprizov and a 1st for Kessel would be a good return for the Penguins that doesn't hurt the Wild all that much.



The concept is trading Kessel for futures to get cap space for Tavares, which is being discussed on the Penguins board currently.

Kaprizov is a stud. I don’t want to trade someone with his ceiling at such a young age. Even if it is for 3-5 good years of kessel.

 

[Peat]

Nino's a LW. If he's spent time on the right it's because we've had a lot of LW's and fewer RW's.

From the Wild's perspective I think trading for Kessel makes some sense if we can trade one of our LW's (presumably Zucker and Nino would be the most appealing) + a 1st/prospect. It gives us another right shot and should be an overall upgrade at forward. The concern is that Kessel's more expensive (though it's a very reasonable contract, in my opinion) and older, so maybe this just exacerbates our current problem: lots of expensive players that are in their 30's are due for decline in the next few years.

I get the skepticism from the Penguins' side though. Why trade a 92 point RW for a 55-65 pt LW? And that's assuming that either Zucker or Nino can reproduce their career highs. Personally I think both of those guys are safe bets to be in that 55-65 point range for 5-6 years, and that's in Minnesota. I'd kind of assume a bump in either one's numbers if they were playing with the Penguins (just like I'd assume a dip in Kessel's numbers in Minnesota). Both are likely to be on comparable contracts once Zucker re-signs, so that's not much of a difference between the two. The big difference, in my opinion, is that Zucker is an excellent even-strength scorer but surprisingly bad on the powerplay. Nino doesn't have Zucker's speed, but he's better on the powerplay and has a habit of making whatever line he's on better. Both can hold their own defensively.

Whether it's appealing to downgrade from Kessel to that for the sake of a late 1st, I couldn't say. To me Kessel seems to fit the Penguins like a glove, so if he's traded at all I have to assume it's partly for non-hockey reasons.

I appear to be relatively alone on this thought among Pens fans (and also possibly mad), but I think trading Kessel for an excellent ES left wing would make us better. Zucker's about the only player out there that I think I wouldn't want to see a significant add (i.e. the 1st would do me, I think). I love watching Kessel, I love the guy he is, but I think the PP can survive without him (gamble) and he's not been the ES player for us he can be (and I think he could be a better one elsewhere), plus we're overstocked on the right and understocked on the left. The chance to get younger, a tad cheaper, add a 1st/prospect and get better at ES sounds great to me.

But I've no idea whether that's what Rutherford wants.

 

[attaamillo]

I appear to be relatively alone on this thought among Pens fans (and also possibly mad), but I think trading Kessel for an excellent ES left wing would make us better. Zucker's about the only player out there that I think I wouldn't want to see a significant add (i.e. the 1st would do me, I think). I love watching Kessel, I love the guy he is, but I think the PP can survive without him (gamble) and he's not been the ES player for us he can be (and I think he could be a better one elsewhere), plus we're overstocked on the right and understocked on the left. The chance to get younger, a tad cheaper, add a 1st/prospect and get better at ES sounds great to me.

But I've no idea whether that's what Rutherford wants.

I can see the logic but it better be a heck of a player. Rakell or Arvidsson would fit the mold. Domi to a certain extent.

It still feels like a move that makes sense on paper but giving up the best player in a deal rarely is a win for the team trading him away. As a win now team, I think the Pens only better themselves in a Kessel deal if A.) They fill multiple holes...I.e. get a young wing and a solid mid pair defenseman or B.) Have a multi-puased plan...trade Kessel for a futures package and use cap savings to sign a big fish FA

 

[Peat]

I can see the logic but it better be a heck of a player. Rakell or Arvidsson would fit the mold. Domi to a certain extent.

It still feels like a move that makes sense on paper but giving up the best player in a deal rarely is a win for the team trading him away. As a win now team, I think the Pens only better themselves in a Kessel deal if A.) They fill multiple holes...I.e. get a young wing and a solid mid pair defenseman or B.) Have a multi-puased plan...trade Kessel for a futures package and use cap savings to sign a big fish FA

Well, since we're talking about Zucker, there's your one hell of a player. There's not a lot of other players I'd consider up there as that possible guy.

A lesser player and yes, we need to fill multiple holes.

 

[KingsOfCali25]

word is toffoli is on the block.

No one has said Toffoli is on the block. It's just Kings fans bitching about him not performing in the playoffs (which no King did).

He had 24 goals and 47 points this year with NO center help. He had Kempe playing Center with him; which Kempe done little of since being drafted. He has played LW the whole time.

The only players LA will look to be trading is Muzzin or Martinez. Maybe both of Voynov comes back.

 

[attaamillo]

No one has said Toffoli is on the block. It's just Kings fans *****ing about him not performing in the playoffs (which no King did).

He had 24 goals and 47 points this year with NO center help. He had Kempe playing Center with him; which Kempe done little of since being drafted. He has played LW the whole time.

The only players LA will look to be trading is Muzzin or Martinez. Maybe both of Voynov comes back.

This is very contradicting to what the other Kings fans have said about Kempe who has been deemed ''untouchable' in a Kessel trade.

 

[KingsOfCali25]

This is very contradicting to what the other Kings fans have said about Kempe who has been deemed ''untouchable' in a Kessel trade.

How so?

In the AHL Kempe was a LW. When he was first called up to the NHL he played LW. This year they tried him at 3C after he struggled at LW in the preseason. Carter got hurt and the Kings put him between Pearson and Toffoli at 2C and it worked for a month or 2 (20 games). The line started to be real inconsistent so LA used Mitchell, Lewis, and Amadio in that spot. Nothing worked until Carter came back. Kempe finished the year at 3C and Kings management said they liked what Kempe did at Center this year (first year playing it) and want to try him there again next year. Kempe is definitely untouchable for the wrong forward because he is exactly what the kings need and are working to find more of.

Vilardi, Kempe, Clague, Peterson, JAD, Brickley will be the hardest prospects to get from Kings fans. They are the start of our next core, so don't be surprised if Kings fans won't move them for Veteran players. Whether they are good or not...the Kings management has already said they are pushing for more youth and building our next core. They want to keep being competitive for years to come.

And with his the past Management sold away picks and prospects for rental players. Kings fans won't want that to happen again.