Rumor: SI reports possible Phil Kessel to Isles

[rockhouse15]

I saw this rumor pop-up on sports illustrated about Phil Kessel potentially being shopped to the Islanders now that Toronto is starting to move into a tear-em-down rebuild. I'm not big on SI as a very accurate source but it isn't the first time I've heard this floating around

http://www.si.com/nhl/2015/02/12/nhl-trade-market-rumors-busy-before-march-2-deadline

Personally I do not want Snow to get anywhere near this for the time being. In terms of just this year, the team is missing a top-6 LW, a C that is good on the PK and face-offs, a depth preferably RHD, and a back-up goalie. None of these needs are overly essential (except for maybe a PK forward) and more importantly Kessel doesn't fit any of them. Trading any of our cost-controlled young forwards for $8 million of Kessel would be a terrible mistake and while I do prefer proven commodities over unproven ones, our top prospects like Pulock, Dal Colle, and Reinhart will help keep our cap hit down when Okposo, Strome, Tavares, etc. need new contracts.

So what do you guys think, is Kessel worth a top prospect or young forward or should Snow look for maybe a smaller piece for the playoffs?

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[LaF16]

SI is probably just piggybacking off of these other "credible" rumors

 

[SI90]

I don't like the contract but I do think he would be a good fit. I just don't want to imagine what we would have to give up

 

[boredmale]

Not that I would do this but....


Kessel, Phaneuf and Reimer

for

Nelson, Dal Colle, Reinhart/Pulock, Grabner, Hickey/Strait, Johnson

That would definitely put us at the next level, without hurting our current roster much(you could move Strome to Center)

 

[Jester9881]

Not that I would do this but....


Kessel, Phaneuf and Reimer

for

Nelson, Dal Colle, Reinhart/Pulock, Grabner, Hickey/Strait, Johnson

That would definitely put us at the next level, without hurting our current roster much(you could move Strome to Center)

That's almost 20mil coming one way..... and quite a few RFA's/ELC's going the other. It would improve the team, but shorten our window by a lot.

 

[Darth Milbury]

SI didn't report anything of the source. What was written was that their are rumors about the teams, not actual talks or any real possibility.

 

[rockhouse15]

Not that I would do this but....


Kessel, Phaneuf and Reimer

for

Nelson, Dal Colle, Reinhart/Pulock, Grabner, Hickey/Strait, Johnson

That would definitely put us at the next level, without hurting our current roster much(you could move Strome to Center)

I know you said you wouldn't do it but could we even get under the cap with that trade either this season or next? We would take on near $17.5 million in cap space and only sending about $7 million the other way off of the current roster.

 

[boredmale]

That's almost 20mil coming one way..... and quite a few RFA's/ELC's going the other. It would improve the team, but shorten our window by a lot.

Nelson, Grabner, Strait and Johnson is 6M so you looking more at about 11-12M coming this way.

Personally I wouldn't do it but it would look pretty sweet for now.

Maybe the leafs might be interested in a Johnson for Reimer swap with us giving them something of value(Donovan, Pelech, Grabner, etc)

 

[IceAce]

His contract is abhorrent. Even if the Loafs agreed to eat the majority of his salary, the cap hit would likely outweigh any benefit we got out of him.

 

[TROLLCHUK]

 

[islesfan3913]

Not that I would do this but....


Kessel, Phaneuf and Reimer

for

Nelson, Dal Colle, Reinhart/Pulock, Grabner, Hickey/Strait, Johnson

That would definitely put us at the next level, without hurting our current roster much(you could move Strome to Center)

I never say this but that would be Milbury bad. Nelson is going to be a solid second line player, Dal Colle is going to turn into an awesome player and is the perfect fit for the first line. I'm not against moving Reinhart but Pulock is someone I want to keep (great skating, PP specialist with amazing shots on the back end don't grow on trees).

I really don't have interest in Phaneuf. I'd rather go after someone like Yandle to be honest.

I would love to get Kessel here because I think it would be a great fit but I don't know if we'd be willing to pay the price. I'd do something like something like Reinhart, Pelech/Mayfield, Grabner and a 1st for Kessel but I don't think Toronto would go for it.

 

[Willoc94]

Not that I would do this but....


Kessel, Phaneuf and Reimer

for

Nelson, Dal Colle, Reinhart/Pulock, Grabner, Hickey/Strait, Johnson

That would definitely put us at the next level, without hurting our current roster much(you could move Strome to Center)

Saying that you wouldnt do it doesnt discount the fact that this is a silly premise. I realize that its a trade proposal topic but there should be some measure of logic to it.

Phaneuf is a name only at this point. I wouldnt trade Hickey for Phaneuf straight up. Some would call me crazy but I see a bargain bottom 2 dman who is in the top 25 for even strength points for Dmen compared to Phaneuf who isnt better than at least 4 of our current defensemen and gets paid more than all of them.

The backup goalie upgrade would be nice, but its a non-factor come playoff time and we're still managing to lead the division despite Johnson's inconsistent play.

And we're really going to give one of our top young players, a former 30 goal scorer and 2 out of 3 of our top prospects for Kessel?

 

[boredmale]

Saying that you wouldnt do it doesnt discount the fact that this is a silly premise. I realize that its a trade proposal topic but there should be some measure of logic to it.

Phaneuf is a name only at this point. I wouldnt trade Hickey for Phaneuf straight up. Some would call me crazy but I see a bargain bottom 2 dman who is in the top 25 for even strength points for Dmen compared to Phaneuf who isnt better than at least 4 of our current defensemen and gets paid more than all of them.

The backup goalie upgrade would be nice, but its a non-factor come playoff time and we're still managing to lead the division despite Johnson's inconsistent play.

And we're really going to give one of our top young players, a former 30 goal scorer and 2 out of 3 of our top prospects for Kessel?

It's a basic case it's going to take 2 good assets + some minor things to get Kessel and I still think Phaneuf has value as a second pairing defenseman.

I am being realistic saying this is what it might cost, not thinking we can some how get kessel for table scraps

 

[OlTimeHockey]

Saying that you wouldnt do it doesnt discount the fact that this is a silly premise. I realize that its a trade proposal topic but there should be some measure of logic to it.

Phaneuf is a name only at this point. I wouldnt trade Hickey for Phaneuf straight up. Some would call me crazy but I see a bargain bottom 2 dman who is in the top 25 for even strength points for Dmen compared to Phaneuf who isnt better than at least 4 of our current defensemen and gets paid more than all of them.

The backup goalie upgrade would be nice, but its a non-factor come playoff time and we're still managing to lead the division despite Johnson's inconsistent play.

And we're really going to give one of our top young players, a former 30 goal scorer and 2 out of 3 of our top prospects for Kessel?

We're also paying for airfare to London to have him knighted after he gets first pick of the ice girls, he's so amazing.

Seriously, if I had to see Kessel's ugly arsed mug every night, I'd switch to radio. The price alone should be enough but some still need convincing how bad this trade concept it.

 

[redbull]

His contract is abhorrent. Even if the Loafs agreed to eat the majority of his salary, the cap hit would likely outweigh any benefit we got out of him.

he's owed $35MM over the next four years (after this one) and a lot of signing bonus. It's close to - Tavares is owed $18MM over the next three. The money alone is absurd, especially for a budget team.

Add to that, a super-talented player who plays with Yashin-like intensity and fades under pressure.

No thank you.

 

[seafoam]

The reason the Islanders are popping up in Kessel rumors is because the Islanders have young pieces and cap space.

Two vital ingredients in any possible Kessel trade.

 

[Brooklanders*]

I really hope its false.

The price is way to steep. We can't afford to make a trade of that caliber. Snow blew it all on the Vanek deal.

 

[Jester9881]

I never say this but that would be Milbury bad. Nelson is going to be a solid second line player, Dal Colle is going to turn into an awesome player and is the perfect fit for the first line. I'm not against moving Reinhart but Pulock is someone I want to keep (great skating, PP specialist with amazing shots on the back end don't grow on trees).

I really don't have interest in Phaneuf. I'd rather go after someone like Yandle to be honest.

I would love to get Kessel here because I think it would be a great fit but I don't know if we'd be willing to pay the price. I'd do something like something like Reinhart, Pelech/Mayfield, Grabner and a 1st for Kessel but I don't think Toronto would go for it.

The Islanders don't need another PMD with no snarl. They need a big body that plays with an edge to balance out the left side D. We're far too small and soft on the bottom pairing and the left side as a whole.

 

[Jester9881]

Phaneuf is a name only at this point. I wouldnt trade Hickey for Phaneuf straight up. Some would call me crazy but I see a bargain bottom 2 dman who is in the top 25 for even strength points for Dmen compared to Phaneuf who isnt better than at least 4 of our current defensemen and gets paid more than all of them.

I'm going to make a somewhat bold prediction here. If all our D is healthy, and no moves are made.... Strait will be replacing Hickey in the playoffs, and almost everyone here will be happy for it. I say "somewhat bold prediction", because it's already happened once. We're already starting to see his warts when the pressure raised in crunch time (now).

He's just not built to play this time of year when teams start grinding out wins and playing physical hockey. He was already prone to getting beaten on the outside because of poor transitions.... now he's starting to turn the puck over along the boards and behind the net because teams are cuing in on that pairing and playing them physical.

 

[boredmale]

The reason the Islanders are popping up in Kessel rumors is because the Islanders have young pieces and cap space.

Two vital ingredients in any possible Kessel trade.

This is true

 

[Willoc94]

I'm going to make a somewhat bold prediction here. If all our D is healthy, and no moves are made.... Strait will be replacing Hickey in the playoffs, and almost everyone here will be happy for it. I say "somewhat bold prediction", because it's already happened once. We're already starting to see his warts when the pressure raised in crunch time (now).

He's just not built to play this time of year when teams start grinding out wins and playing physical hockey. He was already prone to getting beaten on the outside because of poor transitions.... now he's starting to turn the puck over along the boards and behind the net because teams are cuing in on that pairing and playing them physical.

The guy doesnt shy away from physical hockey to make a play and his positioning and stick work is miles ahead of strait. He gets beat in transition play because he pinches. He definitely needs to improve his pinch decisions but Hickey vs. strait is a no contest in terms of what they bring to the table. Did you see Straits whiff and getting burned on the outside for CBJs second goal last night? Case in point

Carkner replaced Hickey in the Pitt series, not Strait. And Carkner literally brought nothing beneficial to the table and was pretty much a parking cone in that series. He even got leveled by Matt Cooke on a forecheck play that was probably the biggest hit of the series...

 

[RWWallpaper]

No thanks...we are at the beginning of our ascendance to being a legitimate power house for the next decade. There's no way I'm carving out that much cap room for a guy like that. All our beloved cap space will be a thing of the past once the Nelson's, Strome's, Lee's, Leddy's, Okposo's, etc. are all up for nice pay raises.

You could make the case that our very best asset is indeed our wonderful cap situation...no way I'm seeing it fall by the wayside for Kessel.

 

[TeamKidd]

Uhhh no. CANT WE JUST LEAVE IT ALONE?! we're doing damned good and we're set up for a decade of success. this truncates our decade to like 4 years and I dont think it makes us a whole heck of a lot better...

 

[Sparksrus3]

I really hope its false.

The price is way to steep. We can't afford to make a trade of that caliber. Snow blew it all on the Vanek deal.

Blowing snow. Well put. That's what Long Island has been going through.

 

[PROMputt]

After all these years of futility and drafting all these prospects why would anyone want to trade away a large chunk of the future on Kessel? I could see if the Islanders were struggling to score goals or not winning. Why don't we just make the playoffs and see what we got? No one was expecting a cup this year so let's just enjoy the ride. And hopefully if Snow has done it right with the cap it will be a long ride and not just a couple of season.