Minnesota Wild should make deal for Phil Kessel without issue

It’s not entirely in their hands, but the Minnesota Wild should have no hesitation to make a deal for Phil Kessel.

As Minnesota Wild general manager Paul Fenton takes steps to reshape the roster, winger Jason Zucker is next up to be traded. The Pittsburgh Penguins are headed for a similar effort to reshape their roster this offseason, with winger Phil Kessel probably their most obvious trade chip.

It appears the two teams are discussing a deal. According to Jack Yohe of The Athletic, the Wild and Penguins have discussed a trade revolving around Kessel. Defenseman Jack Johnson would also head to Minnesota in the deal reportedly being discussed, for Zucker and forward Victor Rask.

The center pieces of the deal are clearly Kessel and Zucker. Zucker was reportedly nearly dealt at February’s trade deadline, but paper work was not pushed through fast enough.

Michael Russo of The Athletic pointed to Kessel as a potential trade target for the Wild earlier this week. Kessel has a no-trade clause, which allows him to submit of list of eight teams he can be moved to.

But it’s hardly a guarantee, despite having played one season at the University of Minnesota, that he’d put the Wild on that list to facilitate a deal.

From a financial perspective, the commitments for Zucker and Kessel aren’t too different. Zucker parlayed a career-high 33 goals in 2017-18 into a nice new contract, and he has a $5.5 million cap hit for each of the next four years.

Kessel carries a $6.8 million cap hit for the next three years, with the Toronto Maple Leafs still retaining $1.2 million per year on what was a front-loaded eight-year, $64 million deal.

The Wild would be trading a 27-year old Zucker for a 31-year old Kessel (who’ll turn 32 in early October). There are also differences in personality, as Zucker is regarded eminently likeable behind the scenes while Kessel is not.

But leaving aside age difference, and the whatever value fans want to attach to the good will if Zucker’s work in the community (which doesn’t relate to on-ice production), Kessel is a proven goal scorer while Zucker has been inconsistent at best.

Kessel had 82 points (27 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games this past regular season, and he had 92 points (34 goals, 58 assists) in 82 games in 2017-18. He was a key cog in the Penguins’ back-to-back Stanley Cup runs in 2016 and 2017, with 18 goals and 45 points combined.

Upon acquiring Kessel, if it can get done, it’s worth wondering if Fenton will have a follow-up move or two. But Wild fans need to leave their sentimentality for Zucker aside and embrace the idea of Kessel, the kind of goal-scoring sniper and point producer the franchise has simply never had.