RUMOUR MILL: Seriously...it won't be long before Kessel has a new home

SpezDispenser wrote:Trade offer from the Leafs: 2 1sts and a 2nd rounder for Kessel.

Boston accepts? We'll see soon. This must be Burke's way of politely giving Kessel an offer sheet.

2 1sts + 2nd could very well land him Taylor Hall / Kabanov next year.

Burke has lost his mind, or should I say, confirms he never had one.

Sens19 wrote:

N4L wrote:If Boston doesnt accept they are mental, haha. Kessel is not THAT good. He's decent for sure, but a guy that was a 5th overall 4 years ago... he is all the sudden worth basically two, top 5 picks. Burke is proving what a lot of people thought, he's a moron.

I really want Boston to accept. PLEASSSEEE BRUINS ACCEPT THIS!

I do too, this would kill The Leafs.

SpezDispenser wrote:Trade offer from the Leafs: 2 1sts and a 2nd rounder for Kessel.

Boston accepts? We'll see soon. This must be Burke's way of politely giving Kessel an offer sheet.

@Spez>Where is this being reported?

Unless he thinks Kadri is the 2nd coming of Crosby, I can't see the logic here.

davetherave wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:Trade offer from the Leafs: 2 1sts and a 2nd rounder for Kessel.

Boston accepts? We'll see soon. This must be Burke's way of politely giving Kessel an offer sheet.

@Spez>Where is this being reported?

Sportsnet news about 20 minutes ago.

Hayden wrote:

davetherave wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:Trade offer from the Leafs: 2 1sts and a 2nd rounder for Kessel.

Boston accepts? We'll see soon. This must be Burke's way of politely giving Kessel an offer sheet.

@Spez>Where is this being reported?

Sportsnet new about 20 minutes ago.

Nothing else in the Toronto or Boston media?

Literally, The Leafs could finish dead last this season... Boston wins the cup and gets the 1st and 30th pick, haha, sure, why not?

N4L wrote:Literally, The Leafs could finish dead last this season... Boston wins the cup and gets the 1st and 30th pick, haha, sure, why not?

OMG.

Chuiarelli on the podium. We'd like to thank the fans for the support through out the playoffs and that Cup is for all of you guys, And now we'd like to select Taylor Hall.

marakh wrote:Unless he thinks Kadri is the 2nd coming of Crosby, I can't see the logic here.

I don't think Kadri is the 2nd coming of Crosby but he will be pretty good for them. But that's still too risky to offer all that for Kessel

I just dont get the appeal with Kessel... Savard literally turned that guy into a 30 goal guy, and he was invisable the 2nd 1/2 of the year. What's Burke doing?

N4L wrote:I just dont get the appeal with Kessel... Savard literally turned that guy into a 30 goal guy, and he was invisable the 2nd 1/2 of the year. What's Burke doing?

Not enough splash in TOronto media these days.

marakh wrote:

N4L wrote:Literally, The Leafs could finish dead last this season... Boston wins the cup and gets the 1st and 30th pick, haha, sure, why not?

OMG.

Chuiarelli on the podium. We'd like to thank the fans for the support through out the playoffs and that Cup is for all of you guys, And now we'd like to select Taylor Hall.

@Marakh> geez, you must have snatched a glance at Madame Zara's crystal ball...you know, she runs Madame Zara's Budapest Cafe and Fortune Telling Parlour on Bloor near Bathurst in T.O. Great chicken paprikash there by the way.

Madame Zara advises all the NHL GMs.

Well, I mean, they are better off signing him to an offer sheet... Unless a guy like Sturm is coming back too...

N4L wrote:Literally, The Leafs could finish dead last this season... Boston wins the cup and gets the 1st and 30th pick, haha, sure, why not?

I doubt it. They've got good goaltending and defence (except Exelby, I still think he sucks) and their forwards are average - the forward equivalent to our defence IMO.

They won't make the playoffs, but they'll be around 12th in the conference IMO, not last. Especially with Kessel.

This Toronto thing is a rumour, right?

The Predators are also apparently in the hunt for Kessel.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090912/SPORTS02/909120340/1028

From the article:

He's a 21-year-old restricted free agent who has 55 goals over the past two seasons, and the Predators are in need of offensive help.

So it would only make sense that Nashville would have an interest in Boston forward Phil Kessel.

Predators General Manager David Poile confirmed as much on Friday, saying he's talked with Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli and Kessel's agent, Wade Arnott, in recent days.

"He's a young player that scores goals,'' Poile said, "and that's very much of interest to us.''

The Bruins still hold the rights to Kessel, meaning they could match any offer made by another team. But the Bruins are considering trading Kessel because they are less than $2 million under the NHL salary cap and Kessel is reportedly looking for a contract worth $4 million or more.

Poile said he doesn't think he'd be interested in making an offer sheet for Kessel, since compensation for signing him would be a first-, second- and third-round pick in the 2010 draft.

A trade would be a different matter.

"We've talked concepts,'' Poile said of his conversations with Chiarelli. "I'd be very interested to see if there might be something he would like from the Predators.''

---

Nothing on this supposed Burke offer on the Sportsnet website, except for this tiny item purloined from SunMedia:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/thewire/hockey/2009/09/12/leafs_move_to_front_of/

The Maple Leafs general manager's dogged pursuit of Phil Kessel that began in June has intensifed to where Toronto now is the leading candidate to land the Boston Bruins winger, through trade rather than a restricted free agent signing.

...nor does it seem to appear anywhere else in the Toronto hockey media.

asq2 wrote:

N4L wrote:Literally, The Leafs could finish dead last this season... Boston wins the cup and gets the 1st and 30th pick, haha, sure, why not?

I doubt it. They've got good goaltending and defence (except Exelby, I still think he sucks) and their forwards are average - the forward equivalent to our defence IMO.

They won't make the playoffs, but they'll be around 12th in the conference IMO, not last. Especially with Kessel.

They have Hanson playing in the top 9... Condra was easily the best player at ND and wont even get a sniff in Ottawa.

Jason Blake is their best forward, that's scary. Their goaltending is decent, nothing to write home about. They basically had a parade for signing a backup goaltender and frankly, I still think their defense sucks. Komiserek is a joke, Markov made him a millionaire, I said way back that if Montreal pays that guy over 3 mil they are nuts, well, Burke like's his mindless goofs. Beauchimen is a total unknown, how will he be without 2 of the best 5 D men in the game holding his hand. Van Ryn is decent, Kaberle will be rendered useless having absolutly no one to move the puck to.

If The Leafs finish anywhere but the bottom of the NE this year, I'll be shocked. I really think they finish in the basement of the conferance.

Now, Nashville making that move is a great idea IMO. There is a team that could use a Kessel. Those picks are a little less meaningful to the Preds then The Leafs because of the prospect depth.

N4L wrote:Now, Nashville making that move is a great idea IMO. There is a team that could use a Kessel. Those picks are a little less meaningful to the Preds then The Leafs because of the prospect depth.

@N4L> this chatter about Burke doesn't seem solid...so far.

Nashville makes more sense, especially as Chiarelli can't want to have Kessel going to an Eastern team.