Monster Trade Rumor Involving Phil Kessel

There is a monster trade rumor involving Phil Kessel of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes Kessel will be traded soon.

I believe Phil Kessel will be traded. It might not happen this week or this month or even this offseason. But I believe it will happen sooner rather than later. Tocchet’s departure could hasten the process.

It was clear in June, by the end of the Penguins’ second consecutive Stanley Cup run, that the organization wasn’t thrilled with Kessel. He scored 23 goals in 82 games during the regular season, not nearly enough for a player with his marvelous shooting skills. He had a huge goal — one of the most significant of the postseason — to beat Ottawa, 1-0, in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final but scored just two more goals in the final 11 playoff games. Even though he had 23 points in the 25 postseason games, it was hard to find anyone in organization to say he was playing well.

My belief is Evgeni Malkin wasn’t thrilled to play on the same line with Kessel. And Sidney Crosby? Sullivan acknowledged Crosby and Kessel have no chemistry together. None. Kessel has to score goals to help the Penguins. He doesn’t help the team with his forechecking or his defense. He doesn’t play any type of physical game, a big reason he has been able to play in 610 consecutive regular-season games, the 11th-longest streak in NHL history.

There seems to be truth to this rumor. Kessel has never played well on a line with Sidney Crosby. Also, during game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final, Evgeni Malkin and Kessel were frustrated with each other as linemates, and that frustration boiled over into a shouting match back on the bench.