Kessel Should Be Odd Man Out
Written by Robert R Falcione, Friday June 12 2009
Phil Kessel. Goal scorer. Speed down the wing. Great wrist shot. Nice toe-drag. He’s a goal scorer. And that is why he should be traded.
Kessel is the type of player that any team would love to have. He’s also the type of player every team hates to have. For every goal and assist he has, he’s given up the puck too easily to the opposition twice as much. You can look the other way when “he looses an edge” in the corners during the regular season. But not in the playoffs.
Kessel will be a great goal scorer, he already is a very good one. If he can ad another move or two to his already solid “toe-drag,” he can score 50 or more. Defenders know what he is going to do one-on-one, yet he pulls it off about a third of the time. He scored 36 goals this past season coming down the wing and floating around the offensive zone (when he felt compelled to move a little). Brett Hull scored 86 goals for the St. Louis Blues playing in the same manner. Hull was unable to win a Stanley Cup that year as well.
Hull was a phenomenal player, future hall-of-famer and one of the all-time great personalities of the game. He did not win a Cup until he became committed to playing a complete game of hockey. One of the most prolific goal-scorers in the history of the game immersed himself in then Dallas Stars’ coach Ken Hitchcock’s defensive system. His effort, and the effort of his teammates, culminated in a Stanley Cup victory in 1999. While Hull’s offensive abilities lead to him scoring the controversial Stanley Cup-winning goal, his willingness to go into the dirty areas of the ice made that goal possible. If Hull was not committed to the other two zones of the ice, he would never have had the opportunity to begin with.
To watch a talented goal-scorer make the commitment and energy to play defense is inspiring to both the fans and their teammates. It can also deflate the opposition to see such a dynamic offensive-force play at both ends of the ice. Love him or hate him Alexander Ovechkin plays all over the ice and tries to force his will upon his opponents. His actions completely motivate his teammates.
On the flip-side, to see anyone withhold their best effort and at times, seem disinterested, can deflate an dishearten teammates as well as take the life out of the fans. This is the Phil Kessel we have come to know.
Some refer to Kessel as a “mini-Ovechkin” for his ability to go down the wing, throw a move (his one move) and create a scoring opportunity. Making that comparison does a great disservice to Ovechkin. To borrow from Keyshawn Johnson: Ovechkin is a star, Kessel is a flashlight.
While Kessel does posses a good amount of speed his awkward stride allows him to sneak up on defencemen who suffer from a lack of concentration. Ovechkin has all-world speed and a bag of tricks that cannot even be duplicated in a video game. He uses his skill-set to make himself a threat every shift that he his on the ice. Kessel, on the other hand, picks and chooses the shifts and games in which he puts in a maximum effort. Usually shifts. Most Bruin fans would settle for even 85% of his best effort most nights. When the going gets tough, Kessel doesn’t get going. He disappears for the night when the other team brings their hitting game. Ovechkin thrives in those games. Kessel is a Min-Pin, Ovechkin is a Doberman. With rabies.
Kessel can be a 50 goal scorer. I’m willing to bet he’ll do it least once before he leaves the NHL. I don’t believe it will be on the Bruins. GM Peter Chiarelli and VP Cam Neely constantly preach about what it means to be a Bruin and wanting “Bruins” on the team. As of last season, Kessel still doesn’t fit the Bruins mold. Maybe if he if he takes a cue from the progression of his teammate Marc Savard’s career after going from the Atlanta Thrashers to the Bruins, he will be.
Have I even mentioned yet that he is supposedly asking for 5 million a year? While plus-37, 73 point, penalty-killing David Krejci has recently signed for an average of 4 million a year?
To even make Kessel care against the Canadiens in the 2008 playoffs, he had to be scratched. Maybe he’ll care about playing a complete game if he’s traded. I think he will be.
Kessel has a lot of pride. He knows he’s talented and he plays like it. There are many occasions where fans feel that Kessel plays like he’s too good to put in a full effort. He’s not too good to be traded. He should learn this.
Of Kessel’s 36 goals, only eight were on the power play. While this is a respectable number, it was only good for fourth best on the Bruins. Zdeno Chara lead the team with eleven, followed by Michael Ryder with ten and Savard with nine. Of the three ahead of Kessel, only Ryder is known as goal scorer. Kessel is supposedly the Bruins go to goal scorer, but his lack of effort on the power-play is what keeps his goal totals and the Bruins success rate, down.
With the ample amount of time Kessel received on the power-play, he never did much with it. Yes, he did pick up points but he was on the 9th best power-play in the league. Whenever he was out there, he would hardly be seen digging pucks out of the corners or going to the net. His reluctance to enter the dirty areas is why he was replaced by Mark Recchi on the first unit. That’s 41 year old Mark Recchi who scored 13 less goals than Kessel. A successful power play is due to not only the skill of the players on the ice, but how hard they work.
The loss of Kessel’s production will be assuaged by the progress of other young Bruins. Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron, and Blake Wheeler are all more than capable of putting up better numbers. All three are still relatively young, with Bergeron being the oldest at 23. Matt Hunwick having a full season to play on the blue line will benefit the Bruins transition game. This is very important because the Bruins make up with their lack of speed by moving the puck quickly.
Trading the rights to Phil Kessel will allow the Bruins some flexibility under the salary cap. This off-season they still need to re-sign Hunwick (RFA), P.J. Axelsson (UFA), Shane Hnidy(UFA), Stephane Yelle(UFA), Byron Bitz (RFA), and Carl Soderberg (RFA). in 2010 both Lucic, Wheeler, Vladamir Sobotka, Mark Stuart and Tukka Rask will need to be re-signed (all are RFA’s). It’s a safe bet that some teams my be interested in signing them to offer sheets. Let’s not forget that next season will also be the final year of Savard’s contract. Moving Kessel will not allow the Bruins to resign all of those players, but it will allow them to keep a very talented, young core together.
Bruins training camp next season will be one of the most competitive for playing spots the Bruins have had for quite awhile. Zack Hamil, Soderberg, Brad Marchand, Mikko Lehotenon, and Sobotka will all be trying to make the team and forgo another season in Providence (or Europe when talking about Soderberg). The Bruins have the talent already in their system to fill any holes created by moving Kessel to another team.
Tim Thomas will be making 5 million a year, for the next four years. That’s Vezina-nominee Tim Thomas. Thomas was first in goals against average and save percentage for number one goalies while compiling a sterling record of 36-11-7. It’s a sound theory to say that Thomas is one of the top goalies in the game. 5 million a year for one of the best players at his position in the game. And Kessel wants how much? He’s not even in the top-ten of his position.
There is the belief that Patrice Bergeron should be traded. The feeling is that the Bruins are deep at center and therefore Bergeron is expendable because of his struggles offensively this past season. While this is a sound theory, it would not make sense for the Bruins to trade him. David Krejci will miss at least the first month of the season recovering from surgery. This will allow Bergeron to have playing time with the second line, giving him the opportunity to skate alongside players who are more offensively skilled. An opportunity he rarely had last season. Since he is one of the best defensive forwards in the game, he spent most of last season playing against the oppositions top center.
Bergeron is very versatile. He can play the wing, the point on the power-play, and center the number one penalty-killing unit. He is also the Bruins best face-off man. A skill that can be under appreciated but is vital to winning games in the playoffs.
Not only would the Bruins be losing a very talented, gritty player, they would be losing a team player and leader. There’s an old axiom in hockey, you can never have too many good centers. So why would you trade one as well rounded and gifted as Bergeron? Having three centers who are all capable of being top-sox forwards, gives the Bruins depth down the middle that few teams can match.
Phil Kessel should be the odd man out in the Bruins quest to build a Stanley Cup contender. Simply put, he’s not a Bruin. He should be traded for one.
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