Update on Kessel-for-Kaberle talks

I don't see this happening for the simple reason that Kessel is not a Burke type player. That is big, tough, and borderline (if not outright) dirty. That being said, I don't mean that as any type of slight to Phil. I want him to stay here and I think it would be foolish to trade him. But I also understand that there are more details regarding contract negotiations then we are likely to know, at play here. So my hope is he signs for a reasonable price and stays a happy Bruin.

Honestly, McCabe made Kaberle look good. The B's need at least an additional pick if they go this route.

If that trade was accepted, I would say thats a great move for the Bruins. Lots of talent available at #7 and a top 2 defenseman. Can't wait to see what unfolds tonight.

I like Kaberle, but 1 for 1 for Kessel (since the #7 pick as well seems false) in the same division? Don't think so!

Beat that drum, KPD. What's the old saying? If you say something loud enough for a long enough time, people start to believe it? Is that what's going on here?

How about, Kessel for 3yrs@$12M for a $4M cap hit. That's a nice rumor. Perhaps if you started saying that in every breathless blog entry people might start believing that instead. Of course, that doesn't get Kessel off the team, does it?

Leave it to the Bruins to continue to get rid of top scorers when they have to start paying them bigger money. They have never won anything with the Jacobs strategy and in my opinion, never will. Just being a playoff team seems good enough for them as long as people still go to games and they don't have to pay top dollar for anyone who can help them put the team over the top. This won't change until the ownership changes.

BOOOOOOOOOOO Kessel is YOUNG!!!! We need to keep our young, fresh go-getter talents.

Everybody talks about a Burke type player like his teams were full of meat heads.Everyone forgets that his teams were every bit as talented as the next,When you have the sedin twins in vancouver or the Neidermyers and selannes in Anahiem,Those players don't exactly strike fear in the hearts of the opposing teams.Unless of course that player is afraid to look down to look for threr jock strap as they skate circles around them. When Burke was in Vancouver he drafted the sedin twins because they need franchise players, When he was in Anahiem he had Getzlaf (it just happens the he was as tough as he was Skilled)and if he gets Kessel he will be a new franchise player or he willthen be used to try and land ahigher draft pick .

THE KID CAN SCORE. WHO DID HE TICK OFF IN THE ORGANIZATION. 31 YEAR OLD DEFENSEMAN AND AN UNPROVEN PLAYER at 7 ? THROW THE LEAFS SECOND ROUNDER FROM LAST YEAR JIMMY HAYES FROM BC IN THE MIX. NEELY WOULD LOVE HIM !!!!

Kessel-for-Kaberle will never happen. Kessel has too much upside and is considerably younger than Kaberle. Chiarelli will let the marketplace set Kessel's salary by seeing if Kessel gets any offer sheets when the free agency period initially begins, and I don't see Kessel getting the kind of offer that will prevent the Bruins from resigning him at Krejci-like money.

don't blame jacobs and the ownership if kessel ends up somewhere else other than boston, it's people like KPD who make a guy like kessel not want to stay here. Without phil kessel, the bruins would not have gotten to where they got last year, he was one of the most important players in our success, and before mono and then shoulder problem, he was the best player in the NHL. get a grip KPD.

a 1st rounder and Kaberle for Kessel is a good deal- especially if the cap space by freeing Kessel and adding Kaberle will allow for a scoring FA to replace some of Kessel's production. Coming into the season injured won't help the Bruins case, but shoulder injuries aren't as bad as knee/groin/lower body injuries. I like the trade, and if the B's do get the 7 pick, don't be surprised if it's for Offense, not Defense as reported. KPD is the Dan Shaughnessy of Hockey reporting- doom, gloom, and manipulative.

Trading Kessel will be his 3 rd major mistake.
1 Trading Brad Boyes
2 Hiring Dave Lewis
3 Trading the fastest-youngest guy in the league who can score and has not developed physically.

I'm sure Kessel feeels slighted that he was not a priority-probably still ticked for getting yanked 2 yrs ago in Playoffs-but I believe-especially in the new NHL-that Kessel could be the next Mike Bossy-I mean he has had cancer and mono and still has gret numbers-it is very hard to replace goal scoring.

THISKID

Jokili, you are complete moron!!!

What does this have to do with the Jacobs strategy you idiot. Don't you see that Kessel doesn't play with passion. He is too passive for a team that wants to play with a lot of grit. How can you make fun of Jacobs's strategy if the team is playing a lot better now and they have GREAT talent. It's not as if they are letting go of a proven goal scorer, who year after year has put up numbers. Phil had an awesome year, but he still has to prove he can do it every year.

Without Kessel we can always watch Bergeron suck all year...just like last year. Same old Bruins....how exactly did Bergeron get $5 million after one year of halfway decent play

BLOCKBUSTER DEAL... yup BLOCKBUSTER!!!! Get rid of Kessel the guy skates around like a fairy and does the same toe drag to a wrist shot move on every 1 on 1, 2 on 1 and 3 on 1.... Give me a break. If we could shore up the 2nd pairing of D we could be unstoppable... Plus Krejci is going to have a breakout year that would shadow Kessel anyways... GO B's drop Phil like the Bill Murray did in Ground Hog day...

Any chance the B's would let Kessel sign with another team if they knew they had another forward ready to sign with Boston? I understand Kessel is young and certainly I don't want to see him traded for Kaberle. I think he has great potential, maybe even 50 goals in him. But, what if they can sign someone like Havlat with the money freed up by not signing Kessel? Or even the Sedin twins? I know Havlat or the Sedin pair would likely be $5-7 million a year, but just a thought.

I can't believe that people still questions the moves by this management team. They IMO have made this team fun to watch AND successfull too boot!
If this trade goes down I think it is for the best.
First, better to make a trade then let Philly USA walk away for nothing, which will happen for sure after 7/1.
Second, what was the one thing that they struggled with all season??? Getting out of thier own end. The first / breakout pass was not there all season from d-men 3-6. That is what killed them against the Canes. THEY COULDN'T GET OUT OF THEIR OWN ZONE & HENCE WERE NOT ABLE ESTABLISH OH-FENSIVE PRESSURE! Any team this seson who put two guys on the forecheck or had a fast / tenecious one man forecheck gave the B's the most problems this season.
Kaberle has good mobility and good hands and IMO shores up some of the one thing that kept this team from going deeper in the post season...

Filipe? shaddup already. What rock have you been under the last 30+ years?
If you went to school, you would know what a common denominator is.
In this case, his name is Jerry, and he makes his living selling hot dogs . If the team in the stadium wins once in a while, he is happy, because, he sells more hot dogs.

Saying Bergeron sucks is a person who doesn't understand what he brings. Yeah he's not at the production he was when he got the contract - who's to say Kessel will be any different. And by the way - Bergeron is still only 23!
Kessel is not the superstar many people think he is. He's not the cornerstone to building a great team - and comparing him to Bossy is an absolute joke! He is a great player and I love having him, but people need to lose the pipe dream of him being the greatest forwad around. Oh and by the way - yes Boyes has put up good numbers in St. Louis, but we got pretty solid return on that trade. WOuldn't call that one a failure.

1st of all, i have no idea how you can say trading brad boyes was a major mistake. did u look at stats or watch the games? the bruins have plenty of forwards that can produce like boyes; kessel, krejci, savard, with guys like ryder, bergeron, kobe right behind them. you would rather have another guy that you somehow have to mix into that lineup than wideman whose numbers have done nothing but climb at the same age and tough to find in a defenseman. (boyes 33g, 39a, -20; wideman 13g, 37a, +32, one of the better shot blockers in the league). don't know how that is a major mistake but i guess it depends what numbers you look at.

Kesse

It's truly hilarious to see the difference in reaction between Bruins and Leafs fans. Leafs fans mock openly the idea that they would ever trade Kaberle and the 7th for a RFA, no matter how young and talented. They expect a pick AND Kessel to come back. Bruins fans don't even necessarily think that Kaberle and the 1st-rounder is enough. I think there's rampant overvaluing of one's own players all around.

also, i don't think kessel is untouchable. sure he is fast and can score, but he has yet to learn how to set people up, has yet to put together a full season stat wise or physically and depends too much on his speed which doesn't really fit to the bruins system. last year for example he struggled towards the end and every break he got he would try his self pass behind the def and try to skate around. teams learned this and would drop him and that would be the end of the rush; as opposed to throwing it on net or dumping it in for possession. he is a good player that can score and is amazing at getting of quick shots in traffic that finds the net but is in no way untradable. if he develops some other parts of his game than sure.

Kessel,if he had better luck off the ice would be a 50 goal scorer.
Bad luck things
1) going to a team that transisioned into Julien,Neely,PC,
2) Cancer
3) Shoulder

I would trade Bergy and save Kessel but that's just me. I like Bergy but he's not worth the cash.

"Without Kessel we can always watch Bergeron suck all year...just like last year. Same old Bruins....how exactly did Bergeron get $5 million after one year of halfway decent play"

1. Bergy was a point per game player when we inked him.
2. He has had 2 or 3 serious concussions, and towards the end of the regular season last season and in the postseason, he showed flashes of his former self.
3. He's only 23.
4. When healthy, he's the Bruins best all around center. He's a physical player, great defender, can put the puck in the back of the net, can set people up, and play on the power play and kill penalties.
5. Before we got Recchi, he didn't have a very strong offensive line. I love Kobasew, but he's just a 20 goal scorer. And PJ is a great defensive forward, but he gives you nothing offensively.

I realize $5 mill is alot, but at the time he signed it, it was what he deserved. And I fully believe he's on his way to being close to that player again (maybe not all the way, but close).

How about Kaberle and the right to Dale Mitchell? Dale was fantastic for Windsor in the Memorial Cup and would be a great sparkplug in the Bruins lineup.

No one would take Bergeron. This is typical of Bruins fans...they think all our players are great. Look at Axelsson......overpaid and useless but loved by the typical Bruin fans

Two players we would all realize were central to the success of this past season if traded are Kessel and Bergeron. Next season Berg will have one of the top 5 forechecking presences in the league. You want to see better play from D, look at ways other parts of team didn't help the D this past season.

Adding Kaberle and his contract (and the wear/tear of 850 NHL games) puts D players @ 7 with Ward, Chara, Ference, Wideman, Stuart, Hunwick. With this cap, no way they can have that much money tied up on the 3 D lines. Ference and his salary would be #7 in press box? They'd have to move one of those $2-3M/yr contracts -- which after a Kaberle trade would garner little in return because the taker would know Bruins are hard-pressed to free up space. I'd say move Stuart up to 2nd line, he proved himself, but with the tight cap he needs to anchor the third line with an $800k/yr third-liner veteran. And use Kaberle's money in yr 2 to resign Stuart. Everyone writes like they want to fill all 6 D slots with 1st/2nd line caliber players. Those players will be in demand after July 1. There are not enough of them.

"No one would take Bergeron. This is typical of Bruins fans...they think all our players are great. Look at Axelsson......overpaid and useless but loved by the typical Bruin fans"

Before Bergy's first concussion you don't think he was a great player?

And we love PJ, but no Bruin fan thinks he's a great player...That's totally irrelevant, so I don't get your point.

I hope they DON'T sign him and let someone else sign him and we get the draft picks. He's not going to last long in the NHL if he doesn't bulk up....he's going to be mid toe drag one of these days and get his head ripped off.

Don't forget...the cap is going to fall by almost 7 million next year. Teams next year will need to rely on organizational depth...so draft picks for this year/next year are important

Kaberle made McCabe look good. McCabe doesn't score all those PP goals without Kaberle's set up.

Kabby would do the same for Chara.

He sure isn't physical, though. Soft as a grape. Should've been a forwarded. The Leafs best passer over the past 10 years, that's including Mats Sundin.

Kaberle made McCabe look good. McCabe doesn't score all those PP goals without Kaberle's set up.

Kabby would do the same for Chara.

He sure isn't physical, though. Soft as a grape. Should've been a forwarded. The Leafs best passer over the past 10 years, that's including Mats Sundin.

Medford Mickey ...

McCabe made Kabs look good? You are joking right?..ummm McCabe had 2 things going for him, 1)his shot and 2) his "can-opener" hit. Once teams shut down his shot and the league made his "can opener" and Illigal hit...he was pretty much a pylon.

Kabs can skate the puck up the ice, can make a great first pass out of his zone, dictates much of what goes on , on the PP. He has a underrated shot that he doesn't take nearly often enough. Probably a product of playing with McPylon and his booming point shot for so long. All in all there aren't many defenseman out there that will give you what Kabs offers a team. He is not a shut down defenseman by any means, but put him with big Z and you have Defense, Offense, Physicality and Finess.

how can people say kessel plays without passion. He was huge in 08 against montreal when he returned and skates his as off day in and day out. The guy played the entire playoffs with a serious shoulder injury, how is that not passion. and just because he doesn't cream people doesn't mean he's not using his body right. Whatever money kessel gets he is very well worth it, i just hope he stays in boston.

How about we forget about all of this chit-chat. Kessel for Kaberle would toss PC's reputation as a good nose for talent right into the trash bin. It's a non-starter, with or without a #7 draft pick. Don't go there!

If we lose Kessel, we deserve to lose. 21 yrs old and 36 goals....open our eyes people.

Trade Bergy for draft picks and sign Kessel.

Kaberele and #7... There is no way that the Leafs would go for this deal.

Kaberele is the 2nd best D-man available this off season, and has a ridiculously low salary for his skill set. Kessel on the other hand, is an average first line forward. I'm not sure if Toronto would even consider this deal as a straight player-for-player trade.

IDIOTS, this is one decent year and he couldn't even stay healthy (06-07 - 11g, 18a, -12 [70gp]; 07-08 - 19g, 18a, -6 [82gp]; 08-09 - 36g, 24a, +23 [70gp]) When did he become ovechkin? He is a good player with a lot of potential (both in production and consistently being hurt). He had to be scratched in the 07-08 playoffs in order to get some intensity. This year looked like he kept it for the most part. Kab for kes straight up, no way. Add a 7th it could be justified if you exclude cap scenarios and knowing supposedly this is a deep draft. As for SoCalDoubleBruin, you are right about the money and deep defense although i think you could easily convert hunwich to a forward if needed.

There is no way Toronto trades Kaberle and the #7 pick for anybody.......stop sniffing glue

Nash,
Your disdain for PJ and Bergeron has blinded you.
Was Ax the best penalty killer on the team? check
Was he a jack of all trades, and play wherever they needed him? check
Was he a leader in the clubhouse? by all accounts, check
Was a cap hit of 1.85 reasonable for what you got? check
Is a minus 1 good considering he was often asked to match against scoring threats? check
Is he a "pro's pro"? check
It's sad you hate a 4th line winger that's been nothing but a good soldier for 10 years. Heck, we just need 4 first lines, right?
...and you'll end up eating your words re: Bergy. The kid is good and barring another bad injury will be a good force for the B's.

Everything seems to point to Kessel being good as gone. Get another D, but I'm not totally sold on Kaberle. Chia has been pretty good at geting this team back to being a contender, so we're gonna have to trust his judgement .

Keep Kessel.. Don't want to regret trading away yet another good, young player with loads of potential. Remember he's only 21! still has time to fill out.

I am not a Bruins' fan by any means, but...

I really cannot believe that Chiarelli is even considering this deal...

Kessel, 22 years old, best season was 2008-2009, Plus 23 last year...

Kaberle, 32 years old, best season was 2005-2006, Minus 8 last season...

Then to add insult to injury...

Kessel and a pick for Kaberle...

Either this is attempted salary dump by the Bruins or Chiarelli has lost his mind...

Cheers

I wonder how hard Kessel puts out for a team and coach that don't ride him the way the B's and Julien do.

Lets face it you can't just laugh off 36 goals. The real issue is should be how do they get out from under the 5 mil that Bergeron is getting so they can pay Kessel and the rest of the young core of this team. Don't forget Savard is coming up too. Where would this team be without him.

Bergie is worth every penny. More often than not he's the best player on the ice.

I agree with Mickey. Bergie is worth it. There are so many more facets to a hockey player than the number of goals he gets.
Sure Kess has a lot of goals but what are his other assets?