Kesler puts Detroit on a list of teams he'd like to be traded to | UPD: Kesler to ANA

[The Zetterberg Era]

Next summer one of him or Seabrook likely goes bye bye with Kane/Toews/Saad extensions

But this summer I doubt they move him ,, Core was only a goal away from 3rd cup final apperance in 5 years

Would be too drastic a move and the only speculation is coming from terrible Chicago sports radio people who dont understand hockey and think his poor postseason should be reason he goes

I get this logic, but for as often as it was dismissed by Hawks fans all last summer when we stated hey we were one goal away from dumping them, I am going to go ahead and say it. The Hawks were one goal away from being eliminated in the second round two years in a row too. Just something to think about, that is the razors edge we are dealing with in terms of the NHL.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

I get this logic, but for as often as it was dismissed by Hawks fans all last summer when we stated hey we were one goal away from dumping them, I am going to go ahead and say it. The Hawks were one goal away from being eliminated in the second round two years in a row too. Just something to think about, that is the razors edge we are dealing with in terms of the NHL.

That is true ,, Of course the Wings were always team who could play the Hawks into frustration

Lets not forget the Hawks to an extent are modeled after the Wings (Just look at all the interference the Hawks get away with )

Now that Wings are gone the Avs are really only team in Central that can throw Hawks off game (Mainly cause there speed kills Hawks)

I just don't fear the Blues or Wild ,, Nor the Stars (Yet)

Central is setup nicely with divisional playoffs for Hawks to meet the Kings in WCF several times in coming years

Would be nice for Hawks to get Kesler and go for it ,, I usually am conservative but the idea of top 6 with Sharp , Toews , Hossa , Saad , Kesler and Kane is very enticing to think of

 

[Kyleftlx]

That is true ,, Of course the Wings were always team who could play the Hawks into frustration

Lets not forget the Hawks to an extent are modeled after the Wings (Just look at all the interference the Hawks get away with )

Now that Wings are gone the Avs are really only team in Central that can throw Hawks off game (Mainly cause there speed kills Hawks)

I just don't fear the Blues or Wild ,, Nor the Stars (Yet)

Central is setup nicely with divisional playoffs for Hawks to meet the Kings in WCF several times in coming years

Would be nice for Hawks to get Kesler and go for it ,, I usually am conservative but the idea of top 6 with Sharp , Toews , Hossa , Saad , Kesler and Kane is very enticing to think of

I just don't understand how the Hawks really can afford to add Kesler. With Kane and Toews due for a raise, and a TON of guys set up long term, it just doesn't seem to make a ton of sense, unless the Hawks were able to move Bickell out. Shoot, if the Hawks get Kesler, it's like literally an EA Sports game, only it's real life and we actually get to see this on a nightly basis. I guess with Kesler only being signed for a couple more years, it could happen if they really were able to move Bickell to make room for him, but it just seems like a crazy move. Good luck to them, haha.

 

[Run the Jewels]

That is true ,, Of course the Wings were always team who could play the Hawks into frustration

Lets not forget the Hawks to an extent are modeled after the Wings (Just look at all the interference the Hawks get away with )

Now that Wings are gone the Avs are really only team in Central that can throw Hawks off game (Mainly cause there speed kills Hawks)

I just don't fear the Blues or Wild ,, Nor the Stars (Yet)

Central is setup nicely with divisional playoffs for Hawks to meet the Kings in WCF several times in coming years

Would be nice for Hawks to get Kesler and go for it ,, I usually am conservative but the idea of top 6 with Sharp , Toews , Hossa , Saad , Kesler and Kane is very enticing to think of

Yep, the Hawks and Kings are the class of the NHL right now. You have to give Stan Bowman credit, he makes trades that improve the Hawks and that will keep them competitive. I also wouldn't write off the Ducks. They have some very good young d-men in the mold of Doughty and Keith and if the can get Spezza - the two teams have a history of trading with one another - then they could become a very competitive team.

The East is a joke, only Boston has any remote shot at competing with the West.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

That is true ,, Of course the Wings were always team who could play the Hawks into frustration

Lets not forget the Hawks to an extent are modeled after the Wings (Just look at all the interference the Hawks get away with )

Now that Wings are gone the Avs are really only team in Central that can throw Hawks off game (Mainly cause there speed kills Hawks)

I just don't fear the Blues or Wild ,, Nor the Stars (Yet)

Central is setup nicely with divisional playoffs for Hawks to meet the Kings in WCF several times in coming years

Would be nice for Hawks to get Kesler and go for it ,, I usually am conservative but the idea of top 6 with Sharp , Toews , Hossa , Saad , Kesler and Kane is very enticing to think of

I said at the time not getting Colorado was a big break. Then again I think the physicality of that St. Louis series did help LA. Suter needs help, he can try but he isn't beating the talent of the Hawks by himself from a defensive perspective. I felt pretty bad for him two years in a row watching that. Mind you not super bad since I think the Wings were basically Suter away from being a top flight team the last two years and he is unlikely to ever have that in Minnesota. That is a team that is feeling confident around these boards that I just don't get it. They appear to be running fourth in that division for well until they slide out of the playoff picture entirely with Dallas and Nashville giving chase.

We will see what happens, but the Seguin trade, the Avs flopping MacKinnon and Jones falling to Nashville (seriously Yzerman screwed that up hard) certainly made the central a lot more uncomfortable than it looked when they first announced the divisions and we were leaving.

 

[Kronwalled55]

We will see what happens, but the Seguin trade, the Avs flopping MacKinnon and Jones falling to Nashville (seriously Yzerman screwed that up hard) certainly made the central a lot more uncomfortable than it looked when they first announced the divisions and we were leaving.

Not sold on Drouin?

 

[InjuredChoker]

I said at the time not getting Colorado was a big break. Then again I think the physicality of that St. Louis series did help LA. Suter needs help, he can try but he isn't beating the talent of the Hawks by himself from a defensive perspective. I felt pretty bad for him two years in a row watching that. Mind you not super bad since I think the Wings were basically Suter away from being a top flight team the last two years and he is unlikely to ever have that in Minnesota. That is a team that is feeling confident around these boards that I just don't get it. They appear to be running fourth in that division for well until they slide out of the playoff picture entirely with Dallas and Nashville giving chase.

We will see what happens, but the Seguin trade, the Avs flopping MacKinnon and Jones falling to Nashville (seriously Yzerman screwed that up hard) certainly made the central a lot more uncomfortable than it looked when they first announced the divisions and we were leaving.

avs speed gives hawks troubles but hawks dominated most of those games this season. varlamov was just out of this world (like he was most of the year).

 

[InjuredChoker]

Not sold on Drouin?

drouin is awesome but hedman-jones as a top pairing for next decade is something else.

i don't necessarily agree with TZE, though. depends on what stevie Y does with that D.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Not sold on Drouin?

Injured nailed it. In my opinion they had the opportunity to create Suter and Weber right there in front of them. They took Drouin, who will be a fine player.

But Hedman and Jones for thirty minutes, my God would that have been scary. Not only that but given where Jones was he was ready to go from day 1. I just think it was a poor decision. A decade of Hedman and Jones in division would have been terrifying so I am happy they didn't.

I think Drouin is going to be special, but I don't think he will ever be more valuable than Jones. Though it isn't like he should cry in his beer. I was just stunned he did it, especially with all the years he spent with Lidstrom, if they are both All-stars you go with the franchise D and I think Jones is a Norris winner at some point he is special player.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

I don't really think any of the teams messed up in the top 4 of last year's draft. Colorado is the best example. They really needed defense, took Mackinnon instead. But hardly a bad move, Drouin with Stamkos will be fantastic.

 

[Petes2424]

Kesler works harder than both of those guys and can score.

It's not like Spezza and Gabby are young either.

I'd take Kesler over Spezza any day.

I'd take Kesler in a heartbeat over Spezza. I know it's been awhile since the Wings have made a significant trade but it's logical they're gearing up for one. Adding Kesler makes them much harder to play against. Kesler holds more value due to his nice contract also. If the cost is reasonable, I don't see a downside at all.

 

[Tom.H]

Folks being way too hard on Kesler here. He didn't put up the .9ppg he has in past seasons, but I'm not sure that was ever a pace he should have been expected to maintain. Last season he played over 21 minutes a game, scored 25 goals, and was over 52% at faceoffs while taking over 1400 of them.

Bring him here where we can maybe put a better group around him, dial his minutes back a bit, and the wear and tear should dip a bit.

One thing about Kesler is that when he is healthy he can be a beast. He also has not had a lot help with his wingers over the years. Sometimes he would make a great play to one of his wingers and they would either shoot wide or lose the puck.
Unfortunately as to the case when Raymond was one of his wingers, sometimes this would frustrate him and he would try to do it all on his own.
Kesler plays with a lot of pride and sometimes he can come across as a jerk, but this is because he genuinely cares.
I almost wish the Canucks would keep him, because he is going to be hard to replace, but I think it is time to move on. It is unlikely that even with him the Canucks are going to go far anyway. So they might as well build for the future.

 

[Number1RedWingsFan52]

Not sure if this is credible or not, But on the Yardbarker web site they were saying that Detroit and Pittsburgh are the front runners for Kesler. I would'nt mind having him for the right price. If this Indeed proves to be true.

 

[Vladdy84]

Not sure if this is credible or not, But on the Yardbarker web site they were saying that Detroit and Pittsburgh are the front runners for Kesler. I would'nt mind having him for the right price. If this Indeed proves to be true.

1st, Sheahan/Tatar, Smith and XO/Sproul. Not doing that.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Not sure if this is credible or not, But on the Yardbarker web site they were saying that Detroit and Pittsburgh are the front runners for Kesler. I would'nt mind having him for the right price. If this Indeed proves to be true.

Given what Rutherford paid for Staal, I don't think we want to be in that bidding war. We will see, but that is a guy with no connection to many of the players or in some cases guys he thought were expendable for Staal and probably wants to make his stamp.

Will be funny if Rutherford jettisons Bennett as one of his first moves. Pens fans have begged for this change, well they have downgraded GMs and have no coach. Change for the sake of change isn't always the best thing and there is a chance their new GM doesn't even value the players the same way. But I guess all is well in their pursuit of Babcock.

 

[Number1RedWingsFan52]

1st, Sheahan/Tatar, Smith and XO/Sproul. Not doing that.

Agreed that would be too much for Kesler, Puckrants the name of the sourse but It does'nt sound very credible at all.

 

[Number1RedWingsFan52]

Given what Rutherford paid for Staal, I don't think we want to be in that bidding war. We will see, but that is a guy with no connection to many of the players or in some cases guys he thought were expendable for Staal and probably wants to make his stamp.

Will be funny if Rutherford jettisons Bennett as one of his first moves. Pens fans have begged for this change, well they have downgraded GMs and have no coach. Change for the sake of change isn't always the best thing and there is a chance their new GM doesn't even value the players the same way. But I guess all is well in their pursuit of Babcock.

Agreed I cant see Holland getting Into a bidding war, That's not his MO.

 

[SoupNazi]

1st, Sheahan/Tatar, Smith and XO/Sproul. Not doing that.

As they say on The Price is Right, "that's too much!"

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

As they say on The Price is Right, "that's too much!"

That or just Holland could send them this.

 

[bababooeyII]

Sounds like Kesler is down to Chicago and Pittsburgh with Chicago being the front runner.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Sounds like Kesler is down to Chicago and Pittsburgh with Chicago being the front runner.

He'd do well in Chicago. They can use an upgrade over Handzus.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

He'd do well in Chicago. They can use an upgrade over Handzus.

yah but at what expense?

i would personally rather sharp as i think he brings way more to the table

 

[Number1RedWingsFan52]

Sounds like Kesler is down to Chicago and Pittsburgh with Chicago being the front runner.

Yeah and neither team, Can really fit him under the cap. Especially Chicago Vancouver will most likely have to retain some salary for Chicago.

 

[Winger98]

Yeah and neither team, Can really fit him under the cap. Especially Chicago Vancouver will most likely have to retain some salary for Chicago.

Chicago has some pieces in Bickell, Versteeg, and Rozsival that they can look to move without really hurting their team, though. And they don't have any significant RFA to sign this year, and no significant holes to fill in their lineup beyond a backup goalie.

Chicago could come out of a trade for Kesler being very deep, and maybe even with a spare part or two to move to make back some of what they gave up to get him.

 

[Vladdy84]

Chicago has some pieces in Bickell, Versteeg, and Rozsival that they can look to move without really hurting their team, though. And they don't have any significant RFA to sign this year, and no significant holes to fill in their lineup beyond a backup goalie.

Chicago could come out of a trade for Kesler being very deep, and maybe even with a spare part or two to move to make back some of what they gave up to get him.

Bickell has been an incredible playoff performer the past 2 years. So I would say losing him would hurt.