Phil Kessel

[Zee]

It's time to talk a Kessel extension.

Top 10 in scoring the past 2 seasons, 4 goals in 7 playoff games...what's he worth?  $7M+ I'd say easily.  Will the Leafs pony up the cash?

Let's see how he does out of the gate this fall.  If he keeps going like he did at the end of the season/playoffs, then you pay him whatever he wants, I guess.  If not, then you have some room to cut a better deal.

I don't think this is the right way to go.  I prefer to negotiate now with lots of time and no pressure.  If we want to keep Phil and he wants to stay, we want to come to a friendly, amicable agreement well ahead of time and outside of media scrutiny (if possible) for eveyone's sake all around.  I don't think observing Phil play for an extra month or two in the fall is necessary or even helpful when it comes to deciding how valuable he is -- a month or two is a small sample size that doesn't say much when weighted against the rest of his career to date.  The leafs management should be aware of what he's worth.

I'm with you on this.  Kessel has improved each year since he's been here and is now a bona fide top 10 scorer in the league.  He's also worked on his defensive game and is far more responsible in his own end now then when he got here.  He has nothing left to prove in my eyes, I say lock him up this summer to get this contract out of the way.

 

[bustaheims]

It's time to talk a Kessel extension.

Top 10 in scoring the past 2 seasons, 4 goals in 7 playoff games...what's he worth?  $7M+ I'd say easily.  Will the Leafs pony up the cash?

Let's see how he does out of the gate this fall.  If he keeps going like he did at the end of the season/playoffs, then you pay him whatever he wants, I guess.  If not, then you have some room to cut a better deal.

Even if he struggles out of the gate, unless he seriously regresses through the first half of the season, you're not going to create any room to cut a deal that's better than the one he's going to get right now.

 

[Bullfrog]

I wouldn't pay him a nickel over $9M per season. 

 

[OldTimeHockey]

I wouldn't pay him a nickel over $9M per season. 

Why so cheap? Sheesh!

 

[ZBBM]

It's time to talk a Kessel extension.

Top 10 in scoring the past 2 seasons, 4 goals in 7 playoff games...what's he worth?  $7M+ I'd say easily.  Will the Leafs pony up the cash?

Let's see how he does out of the gate this fall.  If he keeps going like he did at the end of the season/playoffs, then you pay him whatever he wants, I guess.  If not, then you have some room to cut a better deal.

Even if he struggles out of the gate, unless he seriously regresses through the first half of the season, you're not going to create any room to cut a deal that's better than the one he's going to get right now.

Sure you would.  In fact, that's the only way you could, at this point. 

It's all about whether you think he's really New Phil or Old Phil.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

It's time to talk a Kessel extension.

Top 10 in scoring the past 2 seasons, 4 goals in 7 playoff games...what's he worth?  $7M+ I'd say easily.  Will the Leafs pony up the cash?

Let's see how he does out of the gate this fall.  If he keeps going like he did at the end of the season/playoffs, then you pay him whatever he wants, I guess.  If not, then you have some room to cut a better deal.

Even if he struggles out of the gate, unless he seriously regresses through the first half of the season, you're not going to create any room to cut a deal that's better than the one he's going to get right now.

Sure you would.  In fact, that's the only way you could, at this point. 

It's all about whether you think he's really New Phil or Old Phil.

How many games does he have to produce at this level with a subpar centre to make you believe in him?  I mean, holy.

 

[bustaheims]

Sure you would.  In fact, that's the only way you could, at this point. 

It's all about whether you think he's really New Phil or Old Phil.

Even if he regresses to quote-unquote Old Phil, the difference you're going to get in AAV a few months into the season is less than $500K - likely less than $250K. It's just not worth waiting to see anything at this point.

 

[Deebo]

I would like to see an extension completed ASAP.

 

[Kessel Run]

8 years @ 7.5-8M?

 

[mc]

I was one of the many that called for Phil to be traded during the lock negotiations.

But this play in the playoffs - without a centre who couldn't  win a bloody face-off - cemented my belief that this guy is a keeper. Sure all the regular season goals are good but we now know he can elevate this game in the playoffs - unlike say... Ovechkin.

 

[maplesyrup]

Just contemplating how good Kessel might have been with Krejci or Bergeron had Boston elected to retain him. 

 

[mc]

Just contemplating how good Kessel might have been with Krejci or Bergeron had Boston elected to retain him.

No kidding...esp considering that Seguin had one goal. Phil would have made Boston invincible.

 

[ZBBM]

It's time to talk a Kessel extension.

Top 10 in scoring the past 2 seasons, 4 goals in 7 playoff games...what's he worth?  $7M+ I'd say easily.  Will the Leafs pony up the cash?

Let's see how he does out of the gate this fall.  If he keeps going like he did at the end of the season/playoffs, then you pay him whatever he wants, I guess.  If not, then you have some room to cut a better deal.

Even if he struggles out of the gate, unless he seriously regresses through the first half of the season, you're not going to create any room to cut a deal that's better than the one he's going to get right now.

Sure you would.  In fact, that's the only way you could, at this point. 

It's all about whether you think he's really New Phil or Old Phil.

How many games does he have to produce at this level with a subpar centre to make you believe in him?  I mean, holy.

moly.

25 @ >0.95 ppg plus a minimum of 3 independently verified backchecks per game.  Then I'll never say another bad word about him.  Since you asked.

 

[mr grieves]

What more are you going to learn in 20 games?

Guy's elite. Leafs will be lucky to sign him for less than $8.5m per.

In other words, he'll likely get everything that comes off the books from the last buyouts, plus a decent chunk of what the cap increase. 

 

[Kin]

Although with that said it's pretty amazing that as good as Kessel's been the last three years Stamkos has scored 45 more goals over that time.

 

[mr grieves]

Although with that said it's pretty amazing that as good as Kessel's been the last three years Stamkos has scored 45 more goals over that time.

Yeah. But I'd like to see a few more games before I pay him like a star.

 

[Britishbulldog]

What more are you going to learn in 20 games?

Guy's elite. Leafs will be lucky to sign him for less than $8.5m per.

In other words, he'll likely get everything that comes off the books from the last buyouts, plus a decent chunk of what the cap increase.

Cap Hits of the top 10 scorers in the last 3 years:

1. Stamkos 2. St. Louis 3. H. Sedin 4. Giroux 5. D. Sedin 6. Ovechin 7. E. Staal 8. Kessel 9. Zetterberg 10. Tavares

$7.5 MIL $5.625 MIL $6.1 MIL $3.75 MIL $6.1 MIL $9.538 MIL $8.25 MIL $5.4 MIL $6.083 MIL $5.5 MIL

Ofcourse Toews and Kane signed for $6.3 MIL cap hits each.

 

[Leafaholic99]

Get it done Nonis, I love Kessel and I would hate to see him walk or the Leafs getting very little in return for him at the deadline. Don't piss around, make a good offer and negotiate off that if Kessel's agent counters, we need Kessel going forward.

I'd be happy with an 8 year deal worth 7.37 to 7.67 million per year.

 

[Kin]

Although with that said it's pretty amazing that as good as Kessel's been the last three years Stamkos has scored 45 more goals over that time.

Yeah. But I'd like to see a few more games before I pay him like a star.

I know you're being facetious but I think there's a genuine danger in taking that approach to Kessel. If revenue projections next year make it look like the prorated 2.4 billion the league generated this year might actually grow by 5% or something we could be looking at a 72-75 million dollar cap and then someone like Kessel might really think that he could hit a crazy jackpot in free agency.

I think the issue with Kessel isn't going to be whether or not the Team wants to sign him right away or pay him like a star but rather what star Kessel is going to compare himself to. I mean, looking at that list you posted, I'm struck right away by the Corey Perry comparison. They have remarkably similar PPG over that span and both contracts will strictly be for UFA years. Now, Perry signed at 8.625 so, like you say, Kessel may very well price himself at 8.5 or higher.

That said...if you want me to make the argument that Kessel should get the same as Perry or higher, I can do that(Kessel's younger so the contract would be paying for more prime years). If you want me to make the argument that Kessel should be getting 1.5 million less than Perry I can do that also(Perry won a MVP, is bigger, more physical, can kill penalties, etc). So it'll be interesting to see both how highly Kessel values himself and where Nonis thinks Kessel fits in.

 

[Corn Flake]

What more are you going to learn in 20 games?

Guy's elite. Leafs will be lucky to sign him for less than $8.5m per.

In other words, he'll likely get everything that comes off the books from the last buyouts, plus a decent chunk of what the cap increase.

This. 

Corey Perry money is not unreasonable to ask for.