Reunion on the horizon between the Boston Bruins and this one player?
By Jim Lynch
The Boston Bruins are trying to make their team as competitive as possible for a playoff push with the current group in place. One player they should consider adding is a former Bruin currently playing with one of the worst teams in the league, Phil Kessel.
Phil Kessel, drafted fifth overall by the Boston Bruins in 2006, is on the final year of his current contract with the Arizona Coyotes.
The former Bruin spent three seasons with the Bruins from 2006-2009 before being traded in a blockbuster deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Since leaving the Bruins he has won two Stanley Cups with the Penguins and has played for three different teams: the Leafs, Penguins, and Coyotes.
Trading Kessel is the likely move for the Coyotes. They are in full rebuild mode and are going to trade anything that looks like an asset ahead of the deadline. Kessel being in the final year of his deal and unlikely to re-sign with the team is another key piece the team can move. Kessel is in the final year of an eight million dollar AAV contract.
The Bruins should be able to make the money work, especially if the Coyotes hold back some salary. Boston would be able to add some secondary scoring to back up their top line and would be able to really spread out their talent in the top six.
Kessel would provide experience and leadership on this team and would be someone guys in the bottom six could turn to. Considering where he has spent his previous three seasons, I think the opportunity to play hockey on a different team would come as a blessing to Kessel and should see him play at another level.
This season he has put up six goals and 27 assists through 50 games. While the six goals is definitely not as great as one might expect for Kessel, we do need to remember which team he has been playing on for the past year.
The NHL trade deadline is on March 21, I wonder when we will see a deal made to bring Phil Kessel to a new market, and could it be a potential reunion between the Bruins and the fifth overall pick in 2006?