Kessel signs 8 yr 64 million extension

Ridiculous.

Say Phil Kessel scores 40 goals this year. Would it not be more efficient to have two 20 goal scorers for $3M each?

I'm not trying to take anything away from Kessel as he's undoubtedly a skilled trigger man... but that's about it. Passing, meh. Defense, zilch, if not a negative. Physicality (without his stick), nil. Marketability/Personality, he's a tumbleweed.

This type of money should be reserved for the #1 centre, captain, PP quarterback, top face-off guy, perennial all-star, all-American, etc etc.

Raises an interesting question about Phaneuf though. If Kessel is worth $8M/yr, what is "missing link" Dion worth?!?
 
Sigh, I need some advil....holy JJ riding on a pony. I like Kessel (little less since Scott incident) but 8 mil for 8 years YIKES. I just think there are and will be better all around players for far less money. I can understand 6 mil as the dude does nothing but score, problem is thats all he does. sigh......
 
That is a lot of money, just hope (for his sake) he is able to develop a bit more of an all-around game, because if he doesn't I think Leaf fans will let him know about it.
 
WesM44 said:
Say Phil Kessel scores 40 goals this year. Would it not be more efficient to have two 20 goal scorers for $3M each?
Click to expand...

You know that doesn't make sense because you use 2 roster spots. So you assume the other roster spot with Kessel scores nothing?

Wouldn't you prefer to have a guy that scores 40 AND another player that scores 20?

Plus the 20 goal scorer on the top line (vs the top checkers) most likely doesn't not get 20 goals.

With that said, Kessel is a bit high. There was no discount on for 8th year.

With all these signings, post lockout, it shows that the owners were lying about their financial problems.

Panthers sold for $250M. Forbes only had them valued at $170M. Team was bought for $200M in 2009. Even at an estimated $7.5M loss per year (on paper), the previous owner still made $20M in the sale.

Don't believe for 1 second that the lowly Panthers are hurting financially, and we all know the Leafs are rolling in it big time.
 
I don't think the Leafs lied to anyone about their earnings...

I think it's a good deal. Kessel is one of the top five goal scorers over the past seasons in NHL. That's an incredible, irreplaceable level of scoring. Yes, he is deficient in other areas of the game, but he has improved on his defensive play (though even thinking about defense would have been an improvement over where Kessel was at). He's only 26 and this locks him up for the best part of his career.

If he scores 40 goals in each of the next two years, he'll look like a bargain at that value.

This likely means the end of Phanuef in Toronto though. He doesn't have the recent pedigree to demand that kind of cash...

Cory
 
The thing is he is only 25 and should only now he hitting his stride. I like the authors comment "Just five NHL players in the current era have scored as many goals as Kessel by age 25 and they're all superstars: Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Steven Stamkos and Ilya Kovalchuk" pretty good company.

He seemed to start to back check under the new coach, lets hope he plays both end (I won't hold my breath). I still think 6mil per would have been about what I thought he was worth. Still lots of upswing for such a young talented guy. I don't know I am old school I think its all crazy money these days lol. Lets hope he stays healthy!!!
 
I agree unless Phaneuf takes a much lower number. The Leafs have a lot of talented D in the system, Phaneuf is easier to replace then Kessels goals.

will-411 said:
I don't think the Leafs lied to anyone about their earnings...

I

This likely means the end of Phanuef in Toronto though. He doesn't have the recent pedigree to demand that kind of cash...

Cory
Click to expand...
 
So the team is already in a huge pinch for cap space....what happens when Kadri's 2 year deal expires??? He led the team in scoring last year and took a bridge deal this year...he is going to demand huge money now. Same goes for Franson if he outscores Phaneuf this year.

I know they have some UFA's coming up that they will let go, but Kadri is going to cost them big $$$ after the Bozak and Kessel signings!!
 
tiger tiger said:
Just wait until they all become UFAs. We'll be saying the exact opposite.
Click to expand...

I have no problem with the Hall and Eberle signings...but giving RNH that money so soon is a big mistake in my mind. Now they will HAVE to give Yakupov the same deal if he does anything even close to an improvement on last year.... same goes for Justin Shaltz.

They completely skipped over the bridge contract that basically EVERY team has had to do.

the cap is going to hit them hard soon enough!
 
tiger tiger said:
You know that doesn't make sense because you use 2 roster spots. So you assume the other roster spot with Kessel scores nothing?
Click to expand...
Two words. Nikolai Kulemin. Two players replaced at a fraction of the cost with the potential of meeting if not exceeding offensive output by the incumbents.

And Dion Phaneuf moving on wouldn't be the worst thing for the Leafs' locker room.
 
I think he would have gotten big bucks on the open market. People like to hate on him but the dude can put the puck in the net and is scary fast. I still think its to much but I'm glad they kept him.
 
for me i look at it this way ... how would you replace him for cheaper ? he is one of the top scorers in the league last couple seasons , his passing and back checking have improved and is young and doesn't spend half the season on IR *knock on wood*

also he would have got just as much as a UFA from somebody
 
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I don't mind the signing. He is one of the best scorers in the NHL and has really come along way on his defensive game since Carlyle took over. The cap will be going up quite a bit over the next few seasons. This will hopefully be the end of Phanuef in Toronto. Maybe they can get a 7th round pick for him at the deadline..

James
 

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