Nashville Predators working on possible trade for Phil Kessel

by Dirk Hoag on Sep 13, 2009 1:47 PM EDT

After a summertime of watching the Nashville Predators stand aside from top-dollar free agents, exciting news came yesterday from John Glennon at The Tennessean that the Preds are talking trade with the Boston Bruins, exploring the possibility of acquiring young offensive phenom Phil Kessel, who led the Bruins last season with 36 goals. Quoting Glennon's piece:

[Predators GM David] Poile said he doesn't think he'd be interested in making an offer sheet for Kessel, since compensation for signing him would be a first-, second- and third-round pick in the 2010 draft.

A trade would be a different matter.

"We've talked concepts,'' Poile said of his conversations with [Bruins GM Peter] Chiarelli. "I'd be very interested to see if there might be something he would like from the Predators.''

What say you, Preds fans? What combination of picks, prospects, and/or proven NHL talent might it take to land a young forward who scored more goals last year than any Predator has ever done? Glennon mentions the NHL rights to Alexander Radulov as a possible piece of a trade, and I'm guessing that most Nashville fans would love to see that as part of the deal.

Phil Kessel

#81 / Right Wing / Boston Bruins

Height: 6-0

Weight: 180

Born: Oct 02, 1987

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Phil Kessel	70	36	24	60	23	16	8	0	6	1	232	15.5

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Klein?

I assumed we’d be dealing from our organizational strength, with the Bruins not having the best D depth. One blog suggested Colin Wilson which sounds terribly counter-productive, especially for a small-market team.

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by Sam Page on Sep 13, 2009 1:54 PM EDT reply actions

More on Kessel today

Here’s Trotz on the possibility of adding Boston forward Phil Kessel:

    ``Would Phil Kessel be a great addition? Absolutely. That would give us another piece to work with and he’s a young, quick player who would fit in great.
    ``But there are obviously other teams in that mix. (Poile is) working on being a part of that. We’ll worry about him if he gets here. If he doesn’t, we’ve got a good team.’’

    And here’s Preds captain Jason Arnott on the same topic:

    ``That’s real interesting. If we do end up getting a guy like that, just the emotional boost we get in here would be enough to lift us that much more. Getting a young star like that would be phenomenal. We’re looking at it, but we have to deal with our stuff here and getting prepared, too. If that happens, great. If it doesn’t, we still have 82 hockey games to go.’’

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by Aditya T (smashville) on Sep 13, 2009 5:17 PM EDT reply actions

yea right

why would kessel come here. he would obviously have to agree to a contract before a trade and someone will pay him much more than we will. unless the only people interested have nothing the b’s can use he aint comin.

by predswilrule on Sep 13, 2009 6:02 PM EDT reply actions

Well, money talks, so Kessel will play with any team that gives him what he thinks he’s worth. If the Preds offer him at least $4.5 million per year on a multi-year deal, he’ll be donning the blue and gold. However, Nashville will be in a bidding war with other teams, most prominently the Maple Leafs. Rumours are abound that Burke offered two 1st round picks and a 2nd round pick. Recent history of David Poile suggests that he isn’t adverse to trading draft picks if a player looks to be the final piece. But it would , however, be uncommon to see him give up several high draft picks for one player. The Bruins will want Colin Wilson and/or one of the Preds young defencemen, which would be a big price for a player who won’t be contributing much this year due to major offseason surgery.

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by bkblades on Sep 13, 2009 8:15 PM EDT up reply actions