The 2015 NHL Draft, set to begin Friday evening, is sure to bring a whole bunch of fireworks in the form of trades.
While it's not certain who or what is set to be dealt later tonight, it sounds like we're starting to get an idea of what teams are targeting.
TSN's Bob McKenzie indicated early Friday morning that the Pittsburgh Penguins and GM Jim Rutherford are "in the market" for scoring wingers, which makes ample sense considering the fact that they struggled as a team to find consistent secondary scoring behind All World players Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the 2014-15 season.
It was a large part of what ultimately doomed their playoff campaign and it's likely something head coach Mike Johnston would like to see solved via an offseason addition or two. The team was already floated as a potential trade partner with the Calgary Flames for recent Lady Byng-winner Jiri Hudler, but it sounds like another Canadian player could ultimately be their top trade target.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, appearing on Toronto's Sportsnet 590 on Friday morning, indicated that the Penguins are "interested" in current Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel.
"Honestly guys, I think it comes down to what Toronto is willing to do to help facilitate the deal that will determine the price that they get," said Friedman, via TodaysSlapShot.com. "The Maple wants prospects and picks more than they want players back. But to get this done, especially with a team like the Penguins, they're probably going to have to take a contract back. Or you're going to have to be willing to keep money. And if you keep money with Kessel, he's on your cap for seven more years depending on how much you want to take.
"Obviously when it comes to Pittsburgh, their key is young defensemen. They've got several of them, many of whom can play as early as next year. So you're probably looking at one of those players. And depending on what you're willing to do, it probably determines how much better the player or the picks come to be."
With a defensive farm system chock full of up-and-coming players like Derrick Pouliot, Scott Harrington, Brian Dumoulin and Nick D'Agostino, Rutherford certainly seems to have a bevy of young talent he could flip for a player like Kessel.
The problem, of course, is money.
"But I know Pittsburgh's interested," said Friedman. "I'd be very curious to see if they can pull that off because I look at them from a cap perspective - you've got Malkin making an average 9.5, you've got Crosby making 8.7 - boy, that's going to be tough to get Kessel at an 8 in there as well. It's a big ask."
The Pens currently have about $12.8 million in cap space at present, per NHLNumbers.com. With Kessel's current deal carrying an average value of $8 million, the notion of a trade may not just hinge on the compensation headed back to Toronto, it may able be dependent on Brendan Shanahan's willingness to eat a fair amount of Kessel's salary.
