http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/preview20 ... id=4513809"Instead of feeding off last season and building momentum, the Bruins hit a speed bump after strange negotiations with their best pure goal scorer, Phil Kessel. Kessel is a soon-to-be 22-year-old whose career arc looks to be peaking toward a 40- to 50-goal annual turnaround. How this didn't turn into an eight-year contract extension with about a $5.5 million cap number I will never understand.
There must be a deep-seated issue between Kessel and the organization at multiple levels. Maybe Kessel never got over getting benched during the playoffs and couldn't stomach coach Claude Julien and forced his way out. Could the Bruins really underestimate his market value and value to the team? How else can you explain letting that kind of talent leave for draft picks, none of which likely will come close to Kessel's unique talent? You just don't let players with this kind of skating and release go. And during his young career, he has shown he can take his game into the postseason.
Kessel was so entertaining to watch -- a take-your-breath-away talent in the open ice, especially when he would finish off a mad dash with a to-die-for wrist shot. These players sell tickets and jerseys. Oh, and win games. Red Wings fans have Datsyuk; Penguins fans have Malkin and Crosby; Caps fans have Ovechkin; the Hawks have Patrick Kane; Columbus fans will ooh and ahh at Nikita Filatov. Flash isn't a hockey core value, but it energizes fans and players. It's entertainment. What a concept when you charge so much for tickets! Anyone who thinks the Bruins are better without Kessel is nuts. N-V-T-S nuts." - John Buccigross
Phil Kessel was "The One", and he was one of the 5 best goal-scorers in the league. Trading him, at age 22, is indefensible. If the Thunder traded Kevin Durant because he didn't rebound enough, would that make sense? And spare me the "he's not worth 5 mil" shit. Derek Morris is somehow worth 3.
People who think this trade was good shouldn't be allowed into the
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