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Rehan

Rehan
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Jul. 4, 2017
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Forum: Armchair-GMMay 29, 2018 at 11:28 p.m.
Thread: Trying a Kessel Trade
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Vanderm</b></div><div>I did not watch a single minute of Penguins hockey.

<a href="https://www.tsn.ca/off-season-watch-plekanec-hopes-to-finish-career-with-habs-1.1094853" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://www.tsn.ca/off-season-watch-plekanec-hopes-to-finish-career-with-habs-1.1094853</a>

"Madden reports, however, that there is an "underlying dissatisfaction" between Kessel and Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan. Madden said <strong>Kessel’s displeasure stems from the fact he hasn’t consistently played on a line with Evgeni Malkin, and instead has bounced up and down the Penguins lineup</strong>."

Listen, I'm not going to get into a legal battle here. I'm pretty sure I didn't say that "Kessel never, ever played a single minute on a line with Malkin". And I'm also quite confident that your hot take that "Kessel is not concerned about playing third line minutes with his inflated power play time" is a straight up contradiction of all the news out there that created the "Trade Kessel!" storm.</div></div>

I can respect that, and I apologize if I came off as condescending. Having said that, to claim what I said was a "hot take" yet assume credibility in a comment made from Mark Madden is disingenuous at best. Pittsburgh media is just mad that Kessel didn't talk to any of them on locker clean out day and are reading into things that aren't there. I rest my case however and appreciate the rational argument.
Forum: Armchair-GMMay 29, 2018 at 10:53 p.m.
Thread: Trying a Kessel Trade
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Vanderm</b></div><div>Fun Fact: Trading Kessel doesn't leave a gaping hole in the Top 6 for PIT when Sullivan plays him on the 3rd line. <strong>This is the key reason why Kessel is cheesed</strong> about things in PIT right now.</div></div>

This is simply untrue, I have to wonder if you saw a single minute of Penguins hockey this past season. Kessel played the majority of his even strength time on Malkin's wing, and was only rarely relegated to the third line when Sullivan wanted to mix things up. In the playoffs he was playing injured, so it made no sense to have him in a top six spot when Hornqvist was producing a lot more. Besides, look at Pittsburgh's wingers; on the Crosby line it was Guentzel, followed by a huge mix match on the right between Rust, Sheary and Hornqvist at a time, then they had Hagelin, Hornqvist and Kessel rotating on the second line. If you lose Kessel, that's a serious blow to wing depth which has been so difficult to find in the Crosby/Malkin era. Kessel is not concerned about playing third line minutes either with his inflated power play time. Just look back at the 2016 when he played exclusively on the third line for evidence.
Forum: Armchair-GMMay 29, 2018 at 12:45 a.m.
Thread: Phil won't be thrilling other teams
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Hamburglar44</b></div><div>I'm so glad I could be your 6th ever post. Maatta is too slow n makes bad decisions with the puck when pressured so he got traded. His speed is a real issue. Rust hasn't played a full season yet so I don't think he will make more than 2mil. If speed is the issue with any signing, then Thornton should have been the one to single out but I forgot about Grabner and he absolutely would be better fit than Maroon. Guess they couldn't rely on Jarry in the playoffs and with Markstroms decent stats on a terrible team, he might just be worth having around as an insurance policy and could net a better return than was given if they decide to move him in the future for when Jarry is capable of actually being a fulltime NHLer.</div></div>

Haha! You're welcome, it's an exclusive club. But yeah, I understand where you're coming from, he tends to make glaring mistakes at just the wrong time, the thing I like about him is that he's still very young and has the potential to improve over the next few years and his contract could end up being a bargain, especially since he's just come off a few terrible injuries, I think he's worth the investment in the long run. You might be right about Rust though, not only that but his boxcar numbers don't jump out like Sheary's did last year and he got 3m.
Forum: Armchair-GMMay 29, 2018 at 12:38 a.m.
Thread: Trying a Kessel Trade
Understandable, and I'm not saying the package you put together is bad, it's actually more than reasonable, but like you said trading Kessel would not make the Penguins as better team right now. Rutherford has made it clear that defense will be addressed, however, it won't be of the magnitude that most people think. Letang, Dumoulin, Schultz and Maatta are the top 4 and are locked in for a few years, beyond that the bottom pair is an issue and I can see them targeting a guy like TVR from Carolina or Jack Johnson in free agency if they can shed Hunwick's cap hit. Provided the salary cap moves up to 80m for next season, Pittsburgh can really manage the cap quite easily, they don't lose anyone of note as a UFA, and will be able to sign all their pending RFA's and still be under the cap. If a trade needs to be facilitated, the likely candidates are Sheary or Hagelin.

I agree that Kessel is probably at peak value coming off a career year, but trading him away makes no sense, his cap hit is reasonable for what he produces and that leaves a gaping hole in the top 6 again and you're right back to three years ago looking for an elite winger to play with Crosby and Malkin. On top of that the trade speculations came about from a joke of a reporter who sparks this same rumour every year so I wouldn't pay it much mind.
Forum: Armchair-GMMay 28, 2018 at 9:14 a.m.
Thread: Phil won't be thrilling other teams
Love the TVR acquisition, really think he could solidify that third pair, besides that I personally think that trading away Maatta, who's improving on a controlled contract for a back-up goalie making over 3.5m is a huge over-payment, and an unnecessary one given that Jarry could serve as an adequate back-up for around 1m. A couple more things, that Maroon contract is not worth it for the team, especially one looking to get faster, Maroon doesn't really fit the bill, other guys at that price might be more useful, like Grabner who could replace Hagelin (who you've traded away) in most areas. And finally, just on the Rust contract, don't mind the term, but he'll likely get around 2.5-3 as an RFA so that might make a few of your other moves more difficult.
Forum: Armchair-GMMay 28, 2018 at 7:36 a.m.
Thread: Trying a Kessel Trade
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Vanderm</b></div><div>The last Kessel trade (to PIT from TOR):

Kessel ($1.2M retained)

for

Kapanen (22nd overall) + 2016 1st (30th overall) + 2016 3rd (72nd overall)

The rest of the deal was pretty irrelevant. And that was when Kessel was 27 years old. He's turning 31 in October 2018, 4 years remaining on a decent contract.

Brodie is easily worth a middle 1st round pick straight up, or a late 1st + a middle-late 2nd rounder. Fox is worth a late 1st or early 2nd. So just Brodie + Fox should be a serious conversation with PIT, especially if PIT/Kessel are the ones initiating the process. Whether that package wins out in the bidding or not is another question entirely. CGY probably shouldn't do: Brodie + Bennett + Fox.....but might if they feel Kessel is the perfect fit.</div></div>

I have to respectfully disagree with you on that one. Toronto had no leverage in the Kessel trade, he has a trade block list to all but 6 teams, and even then Toronto needed to shed his salary to rebuild, where as Pittsburgh is in no such position. Hence why the acquisition price wasn't as high. The aim for the Penguins is to win now, and trading Kessel for futures isn't going to help them.