The Boston Bruins future without Phil Kessel

July 7, 3:57 PMBoston Bruins ExaminerMark Marino

Previous Next

16 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Boston Bruins Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

One week into free-agency and Phil Kessel is still out there.

The fate of Phil Kessel's future in Boston is all up to the Bruins front-office, Kessel, and his agent Wade Arnott. We're closing in on the first full-week of the NHL free-agency and we've seen a number of things happen—directly relating to No. 81.

The first thing: The Bruins management extended a qualifying offer to the restricted free-agent Kessel, about one-week prior to the free-agency deadline.

Big Bad Blog:

The B’s made a qualifying offer to Kessel this week — a perfunctory move by Chiarelli to keep Kessel a restricted free agent (RFA) if the July 1 free agency period comes and goes without any movement on a contract. An RFA must receive a “qualifying offer” from his team, or he becomes unrestricted, and the qualifying offer will be 100 percent of last season’s salary for players making under $800,000, and 75 percent of last season’s salary for those making over $800,000.

According to the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, a restricted free agent can accept an offer sheet from other teams. But the RFA’s old team can match the offer or receive compensation, as in the previous free agent system. If both sides can’t come to an agreement prior to training camp and no offer sheets are received, a restricted free agent must sign a contract within 14 days of the opening of training camp, or be ineligible to play that season. This is designed to prevent lengthy holdouts in contract disputes.

On the eve of the NHL Entry Draft, Jun. 27, the Bruins attempted to trade 21-year-old forward to Toronto, in exchange for blue-liner, Tomas Kaberle. The trade gets Lost in Translation and is denied.

Finally, general manager Peter Chiarelli and co. claim UFA Steve Begin and sign the former Canadiens center to a one-year contract--while also re-signing UFA Mark Recchi, and RFA's Byron Bitz and Johnny Boychuk.

Meanwhile, the Bruins 2009-10 salary cap thus far is roughly $53-million against the $56.8-million cap, up $100,000 from last season. So while RFA defenseman Matt Hunwick awaits his arbitration date, we're all going to have to face the music that Phil Kessel's reign in Boston is virtually over.

Of course, the Bruins could move a player and their contract to clear some cap space, but I don't see it happening, personally. Some rumors have even been to move Michael Ryder ($4-million) or 2010 UFA Marc Savard ($5-million) to lock-up Kessel. Then again, they are all rumors.

(Side Note: Please, stop the "Trade Kobasew" talks right now. You people know who you are.)

To fill the potential gap in goals of a Kessel-less Bruins team will be a difficult one. There really isn't a player in the Bruins AHL Providence whom can step-in and score a team-high 36 goals again next season. And quite frankly, for the money, I don't think there are many players out there in free-agency who could either. However, there were seven Bruins' players who notched 20-plus last season

Kessel's 60 points ranked him fourth on the team (missed 11 games) and his 232 shots led all others. Ten others scored 40-plus points in the 2008-09 season, including seven of those who had put the puck on net at least 150 times. All of this without Marco Sturm, who should be good to go for the 2009-10 season, after missing all but 19 games due to season-ending knee surgery.

The Bruins ranked second in the NHL last season in goals-for per game—yet first in both goals-against and plus-minus.

It wasn't until after the playoffs when we found out that Kessel was playing with a torn rotator cuff throughout the post season—bad enough that required surgery this past May. If anyone has every questioned his heart...

With an expected recovery time of up to six months, I'm somewhat surprised that Kessel opted to hit the free-agent market. I wouldn't expect there to be many more offers out there for the Wisconsin native, knowing that a serious operation would prohibit the young superstar from making training camp, as well as the first two months of the regular season.

Nonetheless, we all need to face the fact that Phil Kessel is open to sign with any team at any time now. We could look to Providence for some suitable prospects, or we could just look into what the Bruins used to have.

With the absolute mess that is going between the Chicago organization—mishandling qualifying offers—and the NHLPA, Kris Versteeg could be a RFA turned UFA very soon.

Originally drafted by the Boston Bruins 134th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Feb. 3, 2007 traded to Chicago for Brandon Bochenski. Versteeg was second in scoring amongst rookies with 55 points, behind Anaheim's Bobby Ryan. The 23-year-old was a plus-15 in the regular season and added 12 points in the 2008-09 playoffs with the Hawks.

Last year, the right-winger made $490,000. Not that any team could sign him for that kind of money again this year, but it's worth looking in to.

Other free-agents unsigned

Drew Stafford: Right Wing. 6'2" 202 lb.

Restricted free-agent. 2008-09 salary: $9854,000
First round pick, 13th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft from University of North Dakota. 20 goals, 25 assists, 45 points (5th best on the Buffalo Sabres) and 183 shots.

Dominic Moore: Center. 6'0"188 lb.

Unrestricted free-agent. 2008-09 salary: $900,000
From Harvard University, drafted 95th overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers. Moore was traded from Toronto to Buffalo on Mar. 4, 2009. Played in 81 games last season with 45 points.

Brandon Dubinsky: Center. 6’1” 205 lb.

Restricted free-agent. 2008-09 salary: $635,000
Drafted 60th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, the 6'1" left-handed center scored 41 points in the 2008-09 season. Never shy of a physical altercation, the 23-year-old racked-up 112 penalty minutes in all 82 games for the New York Rangers this past season.

RELATED ARTICLES 

• Bruins defenseman Matt Hunwick files for salary arbitration
• Boston Bruins free-agency: Day one
• Boston Bruins sign Mark Recchi to a one-year contract
• Shane Hnidy signs one-year contract with the Minnesota WIld
• Former Bruins players Gill, Knuble, find new home
• Mark Savard needs to stay in Boston

Follow Mark at http://twitter.com/BruinsExaminer

Email the Bruins Examiner at mark_p_marino@yahoo.com