NHL Trade Rumors: Minnesota Wild interested in Phil Kessel

According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota Wild are discussing a trade involving Phil Kessel and multiple other pieces.

Both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Minnesota Wild are looking to make changes to their rosters after disappointing seasons. The former got swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs while the latter missed them entirely. According to the latest NHL trade rumors from The Athletic, the two sides are discussing a trade which would send Phil Kessel to the Wild.

Michael Russo and Josh Yohe from The Athletic have confirmed the two teams are in trade discussions. The trade would send Kessel to Minnesota and there could be other pieces going as well. Most likely, the Wild would be sending Jason Zucker to Pittsburgh.

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Kessel has a $6.8 million cap hit over the next three seasons. He is due $19 million in salary over the next three seasons. Meanwhile, Zucker has a $5.5 million cap hit annually over the next four seasons. He was nearly traded to the Calgary Flames at the trade deadline.

There have also been whispers of there being a bad contract swap involving forward Victor Rask of the Wild and defenseman Jack Johnson of the Penguins.

The two players are making nearly identical money, as the former has a $4 million cap hit over the next three seasons while the latter is making $3.25 million per season over the next four.

If the trade is a straight Kessel and Johnson for Rask and Zucker swap, the Wild would be the ones taking on more of a cap hit ($10.05 million to $9.5 million), so it’s plausible the Penguins will retain something to make the finances work.

Kessel certainly has ties to Minnesota, as he’s from there. The Wild would add two more American players, as Johnson is from Indiana.

Overall, the trade would be pretty fair. Kessel is the better scoring forward of the two, but you could argue Zucker is a better two-way forward. Rask and Johnson could both be buyout candidates in a few years, though I’d wager the Penguins wouldn’t mind buying out the former quickly if things don’t work out.

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This is about as good of a hockey trade as the Penguins and Wild could hope for their respective stars. Perhaps a straight swap would be better, as Rask and Johnson don’t have desirable contracts. But the Penguins have a surplus of defensemen and the Wild have a surplus of forwards. So maybe a change in scenery would do both well.

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