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Does Kessel fit into the long term plans of the Leafs?

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If he's willing to stay there's no reason for us to be unwilling to keep him (barring ridiculous fiscal demands, of course). He's our best player since Sundin in his prime.
 
So do people feel more optimistic with the idea Kessel will re-sign since Lupul just re-upped?
 
Yes. No doubt. I hope Lupes is now persuading Phil to sign a long term deal with us. And (fingers crossed - yes I know the rumours) should we get Getzlaf... Lupul - Getzlaf - Kessel...... now i'm hyped.
 
I'll be surprised if Kessel doesn't re-sign in Toronto. His agent will tell him to take the deal as long as it's a fair 8 year deal. It's a massive risk for him to turn it down.
 
I think its a no-brainer. If not Kessel then somebody who scores like Kessel. Not too many of those guys in the league. I voted YES obviously.
 
Irish Leaf said:
The only reason i said no now i love Phil he's an excellent player but he's wasted here, he's the type of player you add when your a contender looking for that little extra to set you over the edge. Hes not the sort of guy you build around. He's a luxury player we cant afford we haven't got the corner stones in place yet.
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I agree 100% with this. If you can get a great return for him, trade him. Sadly, we need to trade him for a guy like Seguin.
 
Funny.. this is pretty much the same situation that the Leafs had when Sundin was still with them: a highly-skilled player with nobody to play with. The only difference her is Sundin was a career PPG player who could actually carry a team on his back whereas Kessel is not a career PPG player and caanot carry a team on his back.

The only reason that "Philly Cream Chesse" is a Leaf right now is because Brian Burke completely mis-read the talent level of the team at the time of "The Trade". Since that ill-advised trade, there has been no appreciable increase in the talent level of this team.

As it stands right now, because of the distinct lack of talent currently on this team, the best way for Phil Kessel to help this team get better in the long-term is by getting traded off this team for multiple high-end assets who can help this team down the road.

The Leafs are going nowhere fast, he's coming off of a career year and his trade value is at the highest level it has ever been; now's the time to capitalize on that high trade value before it begins to drop. Another good reason to trade him is because defensuve systems are anathema to his purely offensive game. We've seen how his offensive game was affected while he played within Julien's defensive system. As a result, Phil just couldn't get out of Boston fast enough.

Now playing under Carlyle and his defensive systems, Phil's production is likely to plummet back to the level it was at when he left Boston. Do we really need to see that happen? I don't think so.

Therefore, it would be best to trade Kessel now for the best possible return before his stock takes a tumble.
 
EucaLEAFtys said:
Funny.. this is pretty much the same situation that the Leafs had when Sundin was still with them: a highly-skilled player with nobody to play with. The only difference her is Sundin was a career PPG player who could actually carry a team on his back whereas Kessel is not a career PPG player and caanot carry a team on his back.

The only reason that "Philly Cream Chesse" is a Leaf right now is because Brian Burke completely mis-read the talent level of the team at the time of "The Trade". Since that ill-advised trade, there has been no appreciable increase in the talent level of this team.

As it stands right now, because of the distinct lack of talent currently on this team, the best way for Phil Kessel to help this team get better in the long-term is by getting traded off this team for multiple high-end assets who can help this team down the road.

The Leafs are going nowhere fast, he's coming off of a career year and his trade value is at the highest level it has ever been; now's the time to capitalize on that high trade value before it begins to drop. Another good reason to trade him is because defensuve systems are anathema to his purely offensive game. We've seen how his offensive game was affected while he played within Julien's defensive system. As a result, Phil just couldn't get out of Boston fast enough.

Now playing under Carlyle and his defensive systems, Phil's production is likely to plummet back to the level it was at when he left Boston. Do we really need to see that happen? I don't think so.

Therefore, it would be best to trade Kessel now for the best possible return before his stock takes a tumble.
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Couple flaws in your logic.

1. Your assumption that Phil's production will go down to where he was 3 years ago suggest you think he did not improve and only got better numbers to due to system change, it also assumes he has peaked and cannot get better still. Hardly certain.

2. Trading a sure fire star who can help this team for 10 more years for maybe's is a fools gamble. There is no garantee any picks/prospects you aquire will in any way be equal to what Kessel is now, let alone what he can become. This is not Iginla we are talking about.

3. Trading a star player because we have no other star players suggests you need to get 3 stars at once or there is no point, this makes no sense. You aquire them one at a time, through drafting, trade and free agency.

Short of moving Phil for an Elite center thare is no sane reason to move him. :shakehead
 
Kessel is like a Marian Hossa, or an Alex Mogilny. Terrifficly talented, and a wonderful 'last piece' that puts a great team over the top into the 'dominant' category.

But on a team like this, with no legit leaders, no legit centres, and no legit 'core' for his brand of explosive (yet passive) hockey to compliment, he is just horribly miscast.

There is no sense in paying him the kind of money he will command on the open market when he doesn't do anything to build the team's identity.
 
CrazeeEddie said:
Except we'd then need to acquire a Kessel to play with Seguin. You don't fill one hole by creating another.
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I'd rather start with the center (they're much harder to acquire) but we have what we have. I'd trade Kessel for Seguin without blinking and then sign Semin in the off season.
 
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