Saad is too expensive. If I’m trading Kessel I want to get younger, deeper, and cheaper.
This is a valid stance to take, the biggest problem with a Kessel for Saad trade is that the Penguins downgrade a little and don't really get anything else beyond that. You don't get any salary space to make any more changes beyond the swap, so it's kinda just a downgrade to get 5 years younger. That's why I'd want something else with Saad, but I don't know what that "something else" would be.
That's an interesting though, actually. How interested would people be in Connor Murphy from Chicago? He was the centerpiece of the Hjalmarsson trade, but he just hasn't worked out for Chicago. He was pretty effective for the Coyotes for the 2 years before he was traded. He's expensive and signed long term (4 years left at $3.85 million), but he's a RD and he'd definitely be able to anchor that bottom pair. This isn't Kessel related, it's just a name I saw on the Hawks roster. I think the contract might prohibit it, but the Penguins struck gold the last time they traded for a struggling Hawks defenseman who didn't fit with Chicago.
Kessel for Saad
Kessel for Nino and Coyle
Other than Saad fanboys, that should be an easy choice for anyone.
Where did I say I'd rather do Kessel for Saad over Kessel for Nino and Coyle? Why is Minnesota trading both while the Penguins are only getting Saad from Chicago? That seems like an insanely dumb comparison. I'd rather get both Coyle and Nino, but why is it straight up for 1 guy but the Penguins get 2 top-6ers for the other?
I don't think he'll score 42 PP points regularly, obviously. I do think he'll be a considerably better offensive player than any of the other players mentioned for years to come. A 70-75 point player is still a lot more than the alternatives would be posting here.
Let's not use the phrase "rode a historically good Pens PP", as though Kessel was riding coattails. He led the team in PP points this year, just like he did last year. Kessel was the main reason why the PP was historically good.
My big areas of disagreement are when you're saying "a lot" or other phrases like that, because the difference isn't that big. Let's just say it's straight up Kessel for Saad (I'd want them to add more, but for simplicity), which of these is better? Kessel at ES, Kessel on the top PP and Schultz/Letang on the 2nd PP unit, or Saad at ES, Schultz and Letang both on the top PP unit and Sprong on the 2nd PP unit? The biggest downgrade there seems to be going from Letang/Schultz to Sprong on the 2nd powerplay unit. Saad and Kessel are a wash at ES and I think Letang would be very effective on the powerplay in Kessel's spot.
Again, straight up? No, I wouldn't do that. I also don't think the downgrade warrants phrases like "the Penguins downgrade a lot" or "huge downgrades".