By Tim Benz
https://triblive.com/sports/tim-benz-phil-kessel-to-wild-wouldve-been-wrong-move-for-penguins/
May 28, 2019
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If there was a trade in place between the Penguins and Wild involving Phil Kessel, it appears to be off now.
And it appears it’s off because Kessel doesn’t want to go to Minnesota. The Wild aren’t on his eight-team approved list for trades. And, according toSportsnet, Kessel doesn’t appear willing to go there.
That’s a good thing. Not because I’m fretting over a Kessel trade happening. I’m resigned to the Penguins trading Kessel eventually, despite his points-per-game stats and two Stanley Cup rings.
General manager Jim Rutherford has promised change. Moving Kessel with his $6.8 million contract, his grumbly demeanor and his lack of attention to anything but scoring is probably a good place to start.
However, a trade of Kessel didn’t have to be this specific trade. Aside from shipping him out to the Western Conference, I don’t think a lot of positives would’ve come from the reported move.
The Athletic reported that the swap would’ve been Kessel and defenseman Jack Johnson ($3.25 million per year) to the Wild for Jason Zucker ($5.5 million) and Victor Rask ($4 million).
To me, that sounds as much about an attempt to get rid of Johnson’s contract as it does getting good return for Kessel.
Frankly, the reported trade proposal wouldn’t have accomplished very much because having Rask coming back in return eats up the savings enjoyed by moving Johnson. Unless Minnesota would retain some salary for one or both players, the Penguins would emerge with only $550,000 in cap savings.
For a decision a seismic as trading Kessel, the Penguins should get better talent than Rask and Zucker. Or they should demand high draft picks and the gift of significant cap space to shop for a suitable and affordable replacement in free agency.
There is a lot of good to Zucker’s game. He’s a fast winger with durability, missing just four games during the last three seasons. Plus, he’s a decent scorer with 76 goals over that span.
This past year was a drop off for Zucker. His goals dipped from 33 to 21. His point total dropped from 64 to 42. He went from a plus-34 in 2017 to a minus-8 in 2019.
Michael Russo, who covers the Wild for The Athletic, helped advance the trade story last week with this assessment of Zucker’s performance and by providing commentary on 93.7 The Fan on Friday.
“At times, he can be aggravating, like all players that like to cheat for offense,” Russo said. “There are things that drive you nuts in your own zone. He can score. He gets a ton of chances. But a lot of times, he can aggravate on the ice.”
Gee, a guy who can score but aggravates in his own zone and cheats for offense. Who does that sound like?
Also, it’s not as if Zucker is so special to the Wild that they would consider moving him only for a player of Kessel’s status. Keep in mind, general manager Paul Fenton was reportedly ready to trade him to Calgary back in February.
As for Rask, he’s just a not a good enough player for the money he is making. He had only nine points in 49 games. He’d be a fourth-liner in Pittsburgh, at best. Sometimes, organizations have to overpay for a guy such as Johnson to be on your blueline. They should never have to overpay for a fourth-line forward like that, especially when the Penguins have cheap options such as Teddy Blueger (RFA), Garrett Wilson (RFA) and Adam Johnson (RFA) who can eat up time on the fourth line.
When news of this trade proposal broke, many railed against it because the thought of trading Kessel and his raw point production makes them break out in hives. That’s not me. I’m willing to live in a post-Phil world.
But shipping him out in a trade like this would’ve been the wrong way to go. Kessel did Rutherford a favor by reportedly nixing the deal.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@tribweb.com or viaTwitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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