“Welcome to the Buffalo Sabres….. Phil Kessel!”
Okay, that’s not a true statement — at least not yet, but could it be someday?
Kessel, 27, is locked up under contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs through the 2021-22 season. But as we all know, nothing in the hockey world is certain, and there’s been rumors abound that Kessel could be traded someday soon. Could Buffalo be his next destination?
Why would Phil Kessel joining the Buffalo Sabres work?
All jokes aside, Kessel has had some strong performances in his NHL career. Last season, he averaged .74 points per game, putting up 25 goals and 36 assists for 61 points in 82 games in the regular season. The year prior, he averaged just shy of a point-per game, racking up 80 points in 82 games.
If Kessel had been in Buffalo with those numbers this past season, he would’ve led the team in goals, assists and points. (In reality, Tyler Ennis led the Sabres with 46 points, including 20 goals, and Matt Moulson‘s 28 assists were most on the team.)
Another positive about Kessel: he’s been somewhat of an iron man lately. If you’re looking for consistency and a player that shows up every night, Kessel doesn’t seem to be a bad choice.
Puck Prose
In fact, he hasn’t missed a game since the 2009-10 season, appearing in all 82 games in the four full seasons since then, and all 48 games in the lockout-shortened season. He also appeared in all seven playoff games with the Leafs after the 2012-2013 season.
Since the beginning of the 2010-2011 season, Kessel has scored 345 points in 383 games, averaging 0.90 points/game. That includes 155 goals and 190 assists.
One of the big issues with any team picking up Kessel at this point is his whopper of a contract. His $8 million salary cap hit would simply be too much for a lot of teams to pick up without having to move multiple pieces of their already-constructed squad.
Another related downside is the length of said contract. An $8 million cap hit for several more seasons in the future really puts a lot of space pressure on a team, not just for this season, but for years to come.
Luckily, this wouldn’t be a problem for the Buffalo Sabres, who have plenty of cap space to work with.
Why wouldn’t Phil Kessel joining the Buffalo Sabres work?
The main problem here at the moment: Kessel has a limited no-trade clause in his contract with the Leafs, allowing him to submit a list of teams that he’s willing to accept a trade to.
Though this hasn’t been confirmed yet, TSN recently reported those eight teams to be: the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins.
In other words, that’s eight teams that don’t have a lot of cap space to work with; eight teams that would have to move pieces in order to accommodate Kessel.
Notice, of course, that the Buffalo Sabres are not on Kessel’s list — at least not right now, so that would be the major holdup in any conversations about Kessel joining the Sabres.
BUT — this could change. If the Leafs are able to work out a deal with the Sabres, they could potentially ask Kessel to modify his no-trade clause to accept a trade to the Sabres. Whether or not Kessel would accommodate that is another question, but it’s not out of the question yet.
What are your thoughts on the matter, Buffalo Sabres fans? Would you be interested in seeing Kessel in the blue and gold?
Next: Grigorenko Headed to KHL?
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