Jump to content

Could Kessel end up a Hab?


JVD

Recommended Posts

Some interesting debate about this topic but I put the odds of actually landing him at less than 5%. There are far too many moving pieces that would have to be involved to make it work and I can't see these two rivals engineering a blockbuster like that. The Leafs have to take back close to equal salary and will want picks/prospects, so unless MB can work some magic involving Parenteau, it's not going to happen. And even then, the long term implications may be far too much to withstand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Would much prefer to deal for 35yr old Joe Thorton.

At least he has reasonable contract.

That's why I want Patrik Marleau. Plays center or wing, 35, $6.67M cap hit, had a bad year (his "bad year" would still be our third best forward in scoring at 57 points), still an excellent player and despite a few bad playoffs recently, has an excellent career playoff points record. I think he'd bring some real fire in Montreal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Would much prefer to deal for 35yr old Joe Thorton.

At least he has reasonable contract.

That's the deal that I would like to see as well. Finally get a legit center to end all the discussion, help on the PP and might possibly be had for a reasonable price.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's the deal that I would like to see as well. Finally get a legit center to end all the discussion, help on the PP and might possibly be had for a reasonable price.

Reasonable? Unlikely.

Thornton has to name teams first, which if he named only the Habs or Habs and two other teams, maybe the value is reasonable, but Sharks won't part with him cheap.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reasonable? Unlikely.

Thornton has to name teams first, which if he named only the Habs or Habs and two other teams, maybe the value is reasonable, but Sharks won't part with him cheap.

I agree. They will want to convert Thornton into future core player(s) for a contending team - which is exactly what we would want of Bergevin in the same situation. And I don't think Zoot is going to sell the future in return for a 35-year-old.

I've grown pretty pessimistic about the likelihood of any blockbuster deal, really. We just don't have the surplus of elite young prospects/picks that would attract a team willing to move a bona-fide elite player who isn't washed up. E.g., we can't afford to give up Beaulieu or Galchenyuk, nor do we have those coveted high-end draft picks. The only real possibility seems to be trading Pleks, who DOES have value to a team like Edmonton - but trading Pleks for a Yakupov-type could cripple our team in the short term if the player coming back fails to have a breakout season. Maybe I'm off base, but it's hard to see a fit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree, I don't think what say a Jumbo would bring to make us that much better than our team with Plekanec, Beaulieu, Galchenyuk, or any combination of those players traded off.

In fact I see us as worse.

Agree we don't have the assets to make a blockbuster, and I think when you objectively look at this team's performance over the last couple years, and it's development, I don't see any reason to panic and go all in, and further drain our prospect pool by trading for long in the tooth veterans, especially under achieving ones.

There will be deals come along to be made to strengthen our team, and it's playoff performance, and I'm sure Bergevin is a few steps ahead of any of us arm chair GM's.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thorton is just such a smart playmaker and likely a bit desparate to win a cup and maybe even want to get away from team that cut his legs out from under him by yanking the 'C' from him (has to be at least a bit disgruntled you would think?).

I know highly unlikely, but I could stomach him much moreso than marshmellow soft Philly!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree. They will want to convert Thornton into future core player(s) for a contending team - which is exactly what we would want of Bergevin in the same situation. And I don't think Zoot is going to sell the future in return for a 35-year-old.

I've grown pretty pessimistic about the likelihood of any blockbuster deal, really. We just don't have the surplus of elite young prospects/picks that would attract a team willing to move a bona-fide elite player who isn't washed up. E.g., we can't afford to give up Beaulieu or Galchenyuk, nor do we have those coveted high-end draft picks. The only real possibility seems to be trading Pleks, who DOES have value to a team like Edmonton - but trading Pleks for a Yakupov-type could cripple our team in the short term if the player coming back fails to have a breakout season. Maybe I'm off base, but it's hard to see a fit.

Also good to add that we're bottom 3 for available cap space. Teams like the Winnipeg Jets are sitting around with $21M in cap space and needing four more forwards. That's a team which could easily swing a deal with San Jose without holding any cap space back.

Until Montreal moves Emelin, Parenteau and/or Gilbert, we're limited on moves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reasonable? Unlikely.

Thornton has to name teams first, which if he named only the Habs or Habs and two other teams, maybe the value is reasonable, but Sharks won't part with him cheap.

Reasonable compared to what his actual value is in my opinion. Remember, the Sharks have had nothing but disappointment in the last decade and that culminated in a rare playoff miss. Add on to that the riff between Jumbo and Wilson towards the end of the season, and the demotion of his Captaincy at the start of the season. I don't think it's outrageous to think that they might just want to deal him to move on from the situation. Now it's up to Jumbo whether or not he wants to continue to weather the storm in San Jose, or move on from it as well. This could be a case of moving quantity for quality. Nothing wrong with a package of Eller, Emelin and a 1st or something like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cant disagree, Gallagher must be an attractive player to some GMs.

I think most would agree 30goal season(s) isn't far-fetched for him.

He is the opposite of Kessel, as a respected hard working overachieving Canadian player.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gallagher ain't going anywhere nor should he, if everyone one this team played with as much heart as that kid they would be contending for a cup every single year, MB wouldn't be stupid enough to move him and Big Joe loves the Californian sun too much to leave and besides if he decided to leave SJ it's not going to be for a Canadian city. Kessel was an option because he actually named Montreal as a destination.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kessel named Montreal as a destination, because he knew Toronto wouldn't probably not want to trade him there. He also named boston knowing chances if their being interest was pretty slim.

There was an article a few years ago that said said most agents protect their client by listing teams on modified NTC's that there is a low chance of a trade being made.

Gallagher ain't going anywhere nor should he, if everyone one this team played with as much heart as that kid they would be contending for a cup every single year, MB wouldn't be stupid enough to move him and Big Joe loves the Californian sun too much to leave and besides if he decided to leave SJ it's not going to be for a Canadian city. Kessel was an option because he actually named Montreal as a destination.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, obviously not, now. Speculation can be over.

What I do predict, is Kessel scores 50 this year. (Come on, he managed 40 goals a couple times IN TORONTO... with Crosby or Malkin feeding him, he's gonna have a big year.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, obviously not, now. Speculation can be over.

What I do predict, is Kessel scores 50 this year. (Come on, he managed 40 goals a couple times IN TORONTO... with Crosby or Malkin feeding him, he's gonna have a big year.)

He never reached 40 though...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He never reached 40 though...

Wingers can be tough to figure out.

People thought Brett Hull with Wayne Gretzky was gonna be mindblowing but they weren't as good as Hull and Oates. Rick Nash was supposed to be insane in NY now that he had real players to play with and he's merely been very good. Dany Heatley had two great years with Joe Thornton then fell apart.

Either Kessel finds chemistry with Malkin or Crosby and goes on a scoring tear or he finds himself just doing his usual 30-35 goal seasons. Even then, that'll put the Penguins around the top in NHL goal scoring.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's still a discussion to have here, which is - do you wish the Habs had gotten Kessel, knowing the price? That's a complex deal and I don't know what the 'Habs equivalent' would have been in terms of return. But I'd be curious to know what folks think.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's still a discussion to have here, which is - do you wish the Habs had gotten Kessel, knowing the price? That's a complex deal and I don't know what the 'Habs equivalent' would have been in terms of return. But I'd be curious to know what folks think.

I'd say the equivalent would have been Eller (Spaling), Scherbak (Kapanen), Tinordi (Harrington), and the 1st/3rd for 2nd swap. That's a lot more than what many on here were thinking it would cost.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd pay that. Kessel is 26, maybe 27.

I'm glad we didn't. Kessel just doesn't strike me as someone who is going to effective the last 3 or 4 years of that contract.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...