The Boston Bruins future without Phil Kessel: Part II

(Elsa/Getty Images) There's a good chance we won't be seeing this face in a Bruins
uniform this season.

There could be a near end to the Phil Kessel saga. Well, hopefully.

Kevin Paul DuPont of boston.com has reported that,

Phil Kessel has made it clear that he doesn't intend to negotiate any longer with the Bruins, his Toronto-based agent in recent days informing the Boston front office that the right winger's priority instead is to sign a free-agent offer sheet with one of the league's 29 other teams.

No surprise there, talk about good (or bad) timing. Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke recently re-acquired their 2010 second round draft pick from the Chicago Blackhawks, now lining-up the required compensation for the signing a restricted free-agent, such as Kessel. Per the NHL's CBA, if a restricted free-agent—Kessel—were to sign an offer sheet from another team—Toronto—and the Bruins did not match that offer (Kessel is rumored to be asking $5-mil) then Toronto would forfeit their first, second, and third-round picks to the Bruins, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft..

That sounds like a good trade-off to me.

First and foremost, this issue must end as soon as possible. The Bruins are in their best position this season to make another legitimate Stanley Cup run. To have this this battling back-and-forth hovering over the Bruins' heads, heading into training camp, spells a toxic environment, similar to the Dany Heatley situation in Ottawa. Get the 44 players into training camp without the fear of thinking: Will Kessel be here or am I going to be traded?

I say, without Phil. Let him sign elsewhere, take the draft picks, and use them down the road, preferably as trade-bait before the postseason.

Next, the Kessel lovers out there have about three arguments about why No. 81 must come back. His tremendous speed, his 36-goals last season, and being just 21-years-old.

His speed is unparalleled, there's no denying that. It would even be hard-pressed to find 10 faster players in the NHL. It's something you just can't teach. And at 21-years-old, barring any major injuries, he does have the time to become a better player. But at $5-million, and being forced to move players to make that necessary cap-space, is it worth it?

Absolutely not, and especially not at this point in the off-season. Training camp starts in two days, and game one of the preseason this Tuesday the 15th, against the New York Rangers.

Kessel's 36-goals last year lead all Bruins players, and before getting hit with mononucleosis, 40-goals were certainly within reach. Pretty impressive for a 21-year-old, no question.

But look deeper, Marc Savard assisted on 22 of those. I don't think that Kessel is talented enough to create his own scoring opportunities on an inferior team, and line-mates, to repeat another 36-goal season. Let's face it; Matt Stajan and Mikhail Grabovski of the Maple Leafs are NO Marc Savards.

Last season, the Bruins ranked second in the NHL in total goals, and Kessel was an obvious asset to that success. But that was also without Marco Sturm, who played in just 19 games. Now that he's back from knee surgery, Sturm's 30-goal potential is just waiting to happen.

Another player who flies under the radar to fill the void in goals production is Mark Recchi. Recchi, who was acquired in March at the trade deadline, played in 18 regular season games for the B's with 10-6-16, while half of those 16 points came via the power play. Getting 20-25 goals out of the 41-year-old is not out of the question for this upcoming season.

Missing 18 games during last years' 2008-09 campaign, Patrice Bergeron is another forward who is bound to light the lamp more this season. Lets' not forget Bergeron racked-up 53 goals in his first two seasons with the Bruins. From the bostonherald.com yesterday, Bergeron said,

This time last year I hadn't played much at all the previous year and a lot of questions were in the air. What happened was always in the back of my mind, but now I know I'm back to 100-percent. It's good.

Kessel's one dimensional play has been pointed out time and time again, including a benching for some of the 2007-08 playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens. It's evident that the style that Kessel plays does not fit with Coach Claude Julien's system of being accountable on both sides of the puck.

Often compared to the three-years, $11.25-million contract of David Krejci, Kessel is not only NOT worth more than Krejci, but he's not nearly the caliber of hockey player that No. 46 is. Krejci is far-and-away, a better all-around NHL player, and his league-leading plus-37 is just one of the many attributes that prove it.

To think further into the future without Phil Kessel, the Bruins have many free-agents at the end of this season. Players who's futures are extremely important for Boston moving forward.

Restricted free-agents such as Milan Lucic, Tuukka Rask, Mark Stuart and Blake Wheeler will need to be re-signed by July, 2010; while unrestricted free-agents Marc Savard, Andrew Ference and Shawn Thornton are entering the final years of their respective contracts.

Not that we need stats to show the non-existent physical play of No. 81, but NHL.com has a whopping six hits next to Kessel's name for a 2008-09 season total. SIX! I'm not saying he needs 100-plus in a season to be a Boston Bruin, but six?! And coming off shoulder surgery, you can pretty much cancel the 2009-10 season for a more physical Phil Kessel.

Free-agency is now over 10-weeks-old, and Kessel's toe-drags and one-dimensional play still have him unsigned. The Bruins have re-signed numerous amounts of other players during that time, such as Matt Hunwick and Byron Bitz, among many others. It's no surprise to me that Kessel remains unsigned because Kessel is not worth the price tag or the headache. I'm obviously not the only one here, because if he was, one of the other 29 general managers would have given up their draft picks in order to land him.

I firmly believe and stand by the system that Julien has in place. Although I still think the Bruins need that one superstar forward to put them over the top, Kessel is not that player.

Time to sell high, Chiarelli.

Be sure to read this CBCSports.ca article by Elliotte Friedman.

RELATED ARTICLES