Pittsburgh Penguins: The case for keeping Phil Kessel

Phil Kessel has found his name in trade rumors recently, but the Pittsburgh Penguins would be wise to keep him around.

The Phil Kessel trade rumors have been pretty consistent over the last couple of weeks. The Pittsburgh Penguins are reportedly attempting to trade Kessel, but his modified no-trade clause will make that difficult to do.

I do not blame him one bit for refusing to waive his clause to accept a trade to the Minnesota Wild. Minnesota’s front office (and roster) is a mess right now and the team is not a contender. While Jason Zucker would have been a very good return, Kessel is the Penguins third-best forward and has Hall of Fame level talent. Quite frankly, it does not make much sense to trade him at the moment.

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Pittsburgh’s front office needs to really think this potential trade through before acting on it. There are many elements at play here.

While there is data to suggest Zucker is the better overall player than Kessel, the latter is an elite offensive talent. The former is not that. Zucker’s five-on-five points per hour have declined in each of the last 3 seasons.

As Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin get older, they are going to require more help offensively to lead this team. The aging curve takes a toll on nearly every player. The Penguins “big 3” are all still terrific talents.

Shipping out a point per game player (Kessel) out of town is a risky proposition, at best. He has produced 303 points in 328 regular-season games in Pittsburgh. Despite the rumored feuds with the coaching staff, if you have serious aspirations of winning another championship, you solve the problems and keep that level of production on your roster.

Defensively, Zucker is the better player than Kessel. The data supports that. However, the Penguins are not built on defense. Star power and offense is in the Pens’ DNA. It is what they win Stanley Cups with.

Zucker does not fit that description. I’d reckon that re-signing Carl Hagelin would make you a better team defensively, you can still keep Kessel, and you’d probably help Evgeni Malkin rebound too.

While Kessel is not great defensively, the Penguins coaches can use data and take a look in the mirror. Quality of teammate is a crucial factor for a player such as Kessel. Kessel and the Penguins faired well defensively when Kessel was on the ice with defenseman Marcus Pettersson last season.

Nick Bjugstad is a fine player, but he is not capable of replacing Kessel in the left wing circle on the top power-play unit. The power-play essentially runs through Kessel, as his mobility and playmaking create a lot of opportunities for the other Penguins stars.

Per Natural Stat Trick, Bjugstad had 0 primary assists on the power play all of last season. Bjugstad is nowhere near the playmaker that Kessel is. Internally, he cannot be replaced on the power play.

As a result of all of that, the Penguins have appeared to soften their stance on dealing Kessel. This is great news.

If you’re trading Phil Kessel, you better be sure that the return will be adequate enough to replace his level of production. I don’t trust the Penguins to do that at this moment.

Jim Rutherford has made some embarrassing roster decisions over the last couple of summers. He needs to have a good off-season to get this team back into contention. Keeping Phil Kessel on the roster for next season is a good place to start. Thanks for reading!