Tigger said:CarltonTheBear said:My problem with the trade isn't what we got in return it's what we had to add to the deal in order to get those assets.
If the reports of Scuderi and Kunitz turning down the trade are true, it makes Toronto look a little desperate to make the move. It's not the end of the world but it is annoying to see Kessel on the books until 2022.
If they didn't eat some of his salary or a bad contract, the talent return would have been even less than it was. Kessel's $8 mil/yr cap hit places him 11th in the league right now. I appreciate there are more contracts to come this season and beyond, etc. But it was and is widely perceived that Kessel, as a one dimensional player, is overpaid (not close to being the 11th best NHLer) and there was going to be a reckoning when the Leafs attempted to move him. And there was.