Kessel Traded to the Leafs

[EBondo 233]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=291601

Finally.....

[mrusse01 0]

Lot to give up and big contract, but I like getting a 21 year old first line winger.

[Law Goalie 147]

I was a little surprised it was two firsts and a second, but the contract makes sense.

Now, if you assume that Burke was negotiating in good faith, but still using an upper-tier offer sheet as leverage, and Chiarelli said honestly that it would take two 1sts and a 2nd to get it done, the picture clears up a little.

When you consider that Boston was willing to take Kaberle and a 1st on draft day, the market value of two years of Kaberle at 4.25M/year is effectively a 1st and a 2nd - which seems fair, all things considered.

Is there going to be a Kessel anywhere in the next two drafts, let alone in a position where a playoff team might get him?-- on pure speculation, it looks doubtful.

Boston has settled their roster for this year and stocked up on picks; the Leafs get a contract they can handle and the first-line winger they need.

[mrusse01 0]

What's the breakdown for RFA compensation though? I know it is in tiers based on salary, and I'm thinking this contract may have bumped Kessel into a tier above the '1st. 2nd, 3rd'....but the point I'm getting at is, if Burke just threw this contract on an offer sheet to Kessel, can Boston match it, having two weeks to get under the cap?

EDIT:

Amount

Compensation Due

$863,156 or less

None

$863,156 - $1,307,811

3rd round pick

$1,307,811 - $2,615,623

2nd round pick

$2,615,623 - $3,923,434

1st and 3rd round pick

$3,923,434 - $5,231,246

1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick

$5,231,246 - $6,539,061

Two 1st's, one 2nd, one 3rd round pick

$6,539,061 or more

Four 1st round picks

So RFA compensation on that contract is actually more than what we gave up....with that in mind I think you have to say it's a good deal. You avoid pissing off the Bruins royally, pissing off every other GM in the league, and the possibility of the Bruins pulling an 'F you' and matching the offer sheet and Burke doesn't end up with his guy.

[Law Goalie 147]

Exactly - that's what I mean by negotiating in good faith, but with leverage: nothing under-handed about applying pressure.

[mrusse01 0]

Really hinges on how we do the next 2 years, if Boston gets a couple top 5 picks for him then it's huge for them...if they get like a 12th and 14th overall then it has to be seen as a win for the Leafs.

Gotta respect Burke though, he is putting his money where his mouth is....he thinks this team is ready to make a legitimate move up the standings right now. I'm a bit worried about Kessel playing with Grabovski as opposed to Marc Savard, and the pressure on the kid coming off a serious injury, now in Toronto on a new team with a big contract. I hope the fans give him some breathing room if he is a bit rusty. At least the team is going to be hella fast this year. Bring on Stralberg and Bozak! The Leafs with one of the fastest teams in the league?!?! I can't fathom the thought.

[EBondo 233]

Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, mrusse ^_^

[vek 0]

I've got the same feeling in the pit of my stomach about this as I did about the Tukka Rask/Raycroft trade several drafts ago.

[farhanshak 1]

as long as we dont end up in the Taylor Hall draft lottery next year because we finish worst 5 in the league, this might actually workout for the leafs. i hear the 2011 draft is weak lets see.

like stated earlier, as long as we are picking past 15th in the first round, this many goals doesnt seem to bad.

hopefully he can stay healthy.

[mrusse01 0]

I've got the same feeling in the pit of my stomach about this as I did about the Tukka Rask/Raycroft trade several drafts ago.

Yeah, Rask's really been a stud ever since huh?

I mean, yeah that was a bad trade, but it's not nearly as bad as people made it out to be. Raycroft was a Rookie of Year and we had Pogge. It didn't work out well, but nobody was criticizing that deal when it happened.

[vek 0]

I mean, yeah that was a bad trade, but it's not nearly as bad as people made it out to be. Raycroft was a Rookie of Year and we had Pogge. It didn't work out well, but nobody was criticizing that deal when it happened.

There were many people critical of that move at the time. Raycroft had played abysmally the season prior to the deal, and had fallen to #3 on the depth chart on the Bruins. The Leafs top goalie prospect traded for a 3rd stringer on a non-playoff Bruins team was a combination of bad scouting and bad management, and there were a lot of raised eyebrows at the time.

At least Kessel comes in off a big year playing with Savard, but I just don't see him as more valuable than those draft picks, considering that the rebuild needs a lot more time in my opinion. Although the Leafs have improved on the back end, I see the very high potential for that 2010/2011 1st round draft pick(s) to be in the top 10.

[Hooah4 12]

I'm just glad it's done. Kessel is a great player. Dangler, sniper, whatever you call him. Is it a bad trade? Is it karma? we'll find out. It seems the b's were never really happy with him. The real problem is that it'll take about 5-6 years to really gauge the prominence of this move due to the fact that the draft picks acquired will have matured by then. All the best to Phil. Hope he enjoys it in TO. you guys got a hell of a dynamic player.

Time will tell for this trade.

[mrusse01 0]

I mean, yeah that was a bad trade, but it's not nearly as bad as people made it out to be. Raycroft was a Rookie of Year and we had Pogge. It didn't work out well, but nobody was criticizing that deal when it happened.

There were many people critical of that move at the time. Raycroft had played abysmally the season prior to the deal, and had fallen to #3 on the depth chart on the Bruins. The Leafs top goalie prospect traded for a 3rd stringer on a non-playoff Bruins team was a combination of bad scouting and bad management, and there were a lot of raised eyebrows at the time.

At least Kessel comes in off a big year playing with Savard, but I just don't see him as more valuable than those draft picks, considering that the rebuild needs a lot more time in my opinion. Although the Leafs have improved on the back end, I see the very high potential for that 2010/2011 1st round draft pick(s) to be in the top 10.

If Kessel was 25 or even 24 I'd maybe agree with you...but the kid is so young, and such a dynamic talent that I think it's quite likely we haven't seen anything close to his ceiling talent-wise yet.

You really think our pick is going to be in the top 10 next year? Khadri was 7th overall and since then we've added two rock solid D-men in Beachemin and Komisarek, inarguably the best forward on the team in Kessel, and another year under the belt for guys like Schenn, Grabovski, Kulemin, Tlusty. Thow in a legit tough guy in Orr, a nice 4th liner in Primeau, the college kids Bozak/Hanson/Stralberg, a healthy Toskala, Gustavsson in net. Jeez, just having a legitimate backup in net as opposed to the corpse of Curtis Joseph has to be worth at least 5 or 6 points over the course of a season.

I think it will be a colossal failure if this team is in the bottom 10 at the end of the year.

[KennyWu 24]

Makes sense. Someone on hfboards said: it's like just giving up one first rounder

Kessel himself is a 1st rounder, the 2nd was for Stralman whom we would lose anyways to waivers so just a first that should be mid-round if we make the playoffs.

That and we got the MONSTER, Bozak, Komi..etc without giving up a roster player.

[RiSeOnFiRe 0]

I don't like this trade for the Leafs. The team is still rebuilding, and sure there are some parts in place, but to be giving away your first round picks for the next two years, when your team won't legitimately compete for the Cup for the next 4 to 5 years seems like a step in the wrong direction. If this exact trade had taken place three years from now, after the leafs built up some young players and developed the ones they have now, then sure. I think Burke jumped the gun on this.

[K9 Unit 1]

i think kessel knew that when he signed, i mean komisarek came but that time he definately knew leafs were rebuilding, excited to see how this turns out, i need to update my nhl 10 roster now :D

[mrusse01 0]

I don't like this trade for the Leafs. The team is still rebuilding, and sure there are some parts in place, but to be giving away your first round picks for the next two years, when your team won't legitimately compete for the Cup for the next 4 to 5 years seems like a step in the wrong direction. If this exact trade had taken place three years from now, after the leafs built up some young players and developed the ones they have now, then sure. I think Burke jumped the gun on this.

Yeah. but if you are a contending team, no way Boston is going to take back two 1st rounders that could be 20th+ overall and a 2nd rounder for a player like Kessel.

[Chadd 916]

I don't like this trade for the Leafs. The team is still rebuilding, and sure there are some parts in place, but to be giving away your first round picks for the next two years, when your team won't legitimately compete for the Cup for the next 4 to 5 years seems like a step in the wrong direction. If this exact trade had taken place three years from now, after the leafs built up some young players and developed the ones they have now, then sure. I think Burke jumped the gun on this.

Yeah. but if you are a contending team, no way Boston is going to take back two 1st rounders that could be 20th+ overall and a 2nd rounder for a player like Kessel.

Those picks could come in very handy for Boston at the trade deadline.

[RiSeOnFiRe 0]

Totally agree. I think the Bruins got the better out of this. Cause, well Boston doesn't need Kessel to be the tops in the league and they now have those picks to play with.

[Jason Harris 31]

Really hinges on how we do the next 2 years, if Boston gets a couple top 5 picks for him then it's huge for them...if they get like a 12th and 14th overall then it has to be seen as a win for the Leafs.

.....

Yeah. but if you are a contending team, no way Boston is going to take back two 1st rounders that could be 20th+ overall and a 2nd rounder for a player like Kessel.

Why can't it be a win for both teams?

The B's loved Kessel's scoring and wanted to keep him. However, they didn't like his lack of grit, so they wanted to keep him at their terms -- around $3M a year. Considering the cap will probably flatline over the next year or two, and they will have to re-sign Lucic, Wheeler and (maybe) Savard, receiving three high draft picks for Kessel should help keep the roster stocked with above average talent at the rookie pay scale.

Honestly, this is right out of the Patriots' playbook. Establish a value on a positional group and stick to it, because depth is more important than even stars. If the player wants more money than the team thinks he's worth, trade him for future replenishment. The thing I love about the Patriots' success is their way of doing business is rubbing off on the other Boston teams. It's all about being a consistent contender versus loading up for one shot at the grail (and losing out because of injuries).

[mrusse01 0]

Really hinges on how we do the next 2 years, if Boston gets a couple top 5 picks for him then it's huge for them...if they get like a 12th and 14th overall then it has to be seen as a win for the Leafs.

.....

Yeah. but if you are a contending team, no way Boston is going to take back two 1st rounders that could be 20th+ overall and a 2nd rounder for a player like Kessel.

Why can't it be a win for both teams?

The B's loved Kessel's scoring and wanted to keep him. However, they didn't like his lack of grit, so they wanted to keep him at their terms -- around $3M a year. Considering the cap will probably flatline over the next year or two, and they will have to re-sign Lucic, Wheeler and (maybe) Savard, receiving three high draft picks for Kessel should help keep the roster stocked with above average talent at the rookie pay scale.

Honestly, this is right out of the Patriots' playbook. Establish a value on a positional group and stick to it, because depth is more important than even stars. If the player wants more money than the team thinks he's worth, trade him for future replenishment. The thing I love about the Patriots' success is their way of doing business is rubbing off on the other Boston teams. It's all about being a consistent contender versus loading up for one shot at the grail (and losing out because of injuries).

I think it is a win for both teams for sure.

The Pats comparison is a bit of a stretch. They don't give up on young players like that, but I see what you're saying. Toronto has an inherent advantage over most teams in the game simply because Burke can spend up to the cap every single year and realistically that's not possible for a lot of teams. Therefore, picks and young/cheap players are slightly less valuable to Toronto than to other teams, and with Burke's proven ability to go out and sign NCAA free agents as well as international free agents, along with several strong prospects already in the Toronto system...I think the Leafs can afford to give up two potential prospects in exchange for a 21 year old sniper who has shown he can play a top 6 role on one of the best teams in the NHL.

Boston can either keep the picks and use them to stock their farm system, or they can move one or two at the deadline for a huge short term return if they think they are that close to winning the Cup.

All in all though, I think this is a deal that Boston would rather have not made, but given their cap situation Burke forced their hand. Again, not something you usually see with the Patriots.

[Jason Harris 31]

Deion Branch was traded for a first when he held out during the last year of his rookie contract. Asante Samuel was allowed to walk for the compensatory pick at the end of his rookie contract. Richard Seymour was just traded at 29 for a first. Would the Pats rather have kept all three players? Absolutely. Were they willing to exceed their valuations for the players/positions? Not a chance, because they weren't willing to impact their ability to field a competitive team (read: depth) over the course of new contracts for those players.

You'd have to have been a longtime Boston fan to notice it, but it's so obvious this decade that the other teams have started copying the Patriot's way of doing business.

[Steve_v3 289]

All in all though, I think this is a deal that Boston would rather have not made, but given their cap situation Burke forced their hand. Again, not something you usually see with the Patriots.

I think Kessel forced the deal as much as Burke did. Kessel Valued a big long term deal more than winning now. That is certainly his right and you understand that a injury could end a players career at anytime.

[Law Goalie 147]

He sure did. This sounds like it was a hairsbreadth away from collusion.

[fastmiele 59]

Makes sense. Someone on hfboards said: it's like just giving up one first rounder

Kessel himself is a 1st rounder, the 2nd was for Stralman whom we would lose anyways to waivers so just a first that should be mid-round if we make the playoffs.

speaking of Stralman, I read in the news that the coach said Stralman was the best player on the ice in their last game. <_<