Numbered Days For Kessel?

The stove in Boston is heating up for sure. Following the signing of 3 year contract worth a total of over 11 million signed by David Krejci last week, the eyes of the Garden faithful have turned to the rumor mills with one person on their mind: Phil Kessel. Phil Kessel, who turns 22 in October is coming off a career year in which he set career highs in every offensive category. His 36 goals put him at 8th in the NHL behind the likes of Kovalchuk, Ovechkin and Detroit's Marian Hossa. The oft talked about potential about the man in '81' had finally arrived and shown up, on the score sheet and in the win column.

Despite his at times inconsistent play, including two 5-game goal-less droughts and a seemingly everlasting 15 game span without scoring a single goal, Kessel would regain his stride and find the scoring touch that made him such a pivotal role-player in the Bruins offense. His offensive abilities were enough to 'wow' Bruins fans worldwide, but when the news that broke following the elimination of the Boston Bruins from the 2009 Playoffs, Bruins fans found a new found respect and admiration for Phil 'The Thrill'. It was revealed during the Boston Bruins exit interviews that during the team's 2-0 regular season loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets suffered a torn-rotator cuff on a questionable hit from Jackets defensmen Jan Hejda.

In true Boston Bruins fashion, Phil Kessel continued to play through the injury and into the playoffs, missing just one regular season game in Buffalo. Seemingly unbothered by the shoulder, Kessel went on to score 13 goals and tally 8 assists in the 19 regular-season and playoff games following the injury in Columbus. When news of this injury broke, it truly showed us the real Phil Kessel that Bruins fans had been longing to see; he cared, he wanted to win and wasn't going to let a major injury stop him from contributing in the team's push for their first Stanley Cup in 37 years.

Although Kessel's goals led to a staggering total of 42 leaps from our chairs at the Garden, bar or in the comfort of our home the Bruins now have the daunting task of deciding his future with the club. With the success comes to want for a hefty raise, unfortunately for Kessel and the Bruins, GM Peter Chiarelli is working from an unfavorable salary-cap position. Fact is, it's going to be next to impossible to re-up the 21 year old winger unless he's willing to take less or similar money to the contract that was just signed by teammate David Krejci.

In a perfect world, Phil Kessel understands the rough economic market in the NHL and signs for the same 3.5-3.75 million dollar-a-year contract that Krejci agreed to. However if Kessel has any sense of his value, he may hold out for an offer-sheet, prompting the Bruins to make a move and find a new home for Kessel. One option and rumor that has been spreading over the internet like wildfire has been the idea of sending Phil Kessel to Colorado for the 3rd overall pick in the 2009 draft.

A favorite to go at the number 3 slot in the draft has been Matt Duchene, a 5'11 center currently playing for the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League. He's currently slated to go behind Jonathan Tavares at number one to the Islanders and Swedish defensemen Victor Hedman expected to go at number 2. Duchene has been praised for his effectiveness as a two-way player in an offensive system and has displayed the numbers to prove his worth as in he's scored 129 points in 121 games with the Battalion. Duchene would be a solid fit in the Bruins system and would give the Bruins even more strength at center for the future along with Boston's 2008 first round draft choice, hulking center Joe Colborne.

As intriguing as this option may be, it's considered a longshot as Colorado may be adamant about keeping their 3rd overall pick to draft their replacement for the near-ancient Joe Sakic. After Colorado, the next hottest rumor circulating the internet has been a rumored deal between the Anaheim Ducks and Boston Bruins in which the Bruins send Kessel to Anaheim in exchange for the Ducks first round draft pick and negotiating rights with free-agent-to-be defensemen Francois Beauchemin. Although Beauchemin has the potential to be a game-changing defensemen that the Bruins need to plug in alongside Dennis Wideman, health has been an issue for the 29 year-old native of Quebec. Beauchemin suffered a torn ACL in November and missed the next 62 games of the regular season before returning back for the Ducks Playoff run.

With health already being an issue for an overwhelming amount of Bruins players, the risk that Beauchemin brings with him is not to enough to trade away a guy who scored 36 goals for your team. Especially when you note the existing health concerns on the Bruins defense with Aaron Ward and Andrew Ference, who had both experienced issues with staying healthy during the 2008-09 season.

When you look at the names that surrounded Phil Kessel in the league leaders with stats, the average salary of those players who scored 36 goals or more goes through the roof. The average 36+ goal scorer in the NHL during the 2008-09 season makes 4.9 million dollars a season. A number which the Bruins simply cannot match if they are to keep the same core of the 2008-09 team intact with Phil Kessel on it. Not to mention that a just 100,000 away from the 5 million dollar a year mark is a lot of money for a player who has shown his frequent inability to play defense, making him a very expensive one way player. With the NHL draft rapidly approaching following the conclusion of the Stanley Cup, the future of Phil Kessel and possibly the Boston Bruins will be addressed head on.