Bruins have made "multiple offers" to Kessel

by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Aug 30, 2009 10:59 AM EDT

According to Kevin Paul Dupont's weekly Hockey Notes column in this morning's Boston Globe, the Bruins have made multiple offers to Phil Kessel this offseason:

Headed into the weekend, it was same ol’, same ol’ on the Phil Kessel watch. No reason to expect him on Causeway Street when the Bruins open training camp Sept. 12. A Group 2 free agent, he remains without a contract. A source familiar with the sporadic talks throughout the summer confirmed that the Bruins front office has made multiple offers, with varying length of term, but nothing has convinced the speedy 21-year-old winger to sign on the dotted line. Kessel told this space two weeks ago that he will have a new deal prior to the season - be it here or elsewhere - and he also felt that David Krejci’s new three-year pact (average $3.75 million) didn’t factor into where he set his value. Meanwhile, a New York Post story had the Rangers possibly ready to pony up for Kessel, who must sign prior to Dec. 1 or will be unable to play in the NHL in 2009-10.

Kevin Paul Dupont, Boston Globe 8/30

Kessel's contract situation has been discussed ad nauseum this offseason, so I won't add anymore baseless speculation to the discussion, but it appears that the two sides are still far apart.

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According to the New York Post a few days ago, the Bruins will be unable to match any Group 2 offer sheets made by other teams between Oct 1 and Dec 1, but instead would receive draft choice compensation (as Kessel wants $5M per season, that means a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round draft choice). Is that true? …. I made a blog on Yahoo’s Puck Daddy assuming that that was true.
San Jose just made a salary dump trade to Vancouver on Friday ($4.667M), and San Jose’s GM said that that trade was made partly to keep his options open for acquisitions …. we’ve heard Kessel to San Jose before. The Rangers and the Devils have been rumored to be interested in Kessel as well.
To me it all seems like Kessel is in the drivers seat here, and I’m not sure if we’ll see Kessel as a Bruin again, or if we do, a deal between the Bruins and Kessel will likely have to be done before the regular season starts (Oct 1).

by Mr Spock on Aug 30, 2009 2:16 PM EDT reply actions

That is false as far as I know. If a team made an offer sheet to Kessel, the Bruins would have 7 days to mtach the offer. December 1st is the last day that any team can sign him as a free agent, but the October 1st date (as far as I know) is irrelevant. However, once a team makes an offer sheet the B’s lose the right to trade Kessel. They would receive draft pick compensation no matter when the offer sheet was signed as long as the offer sheet was for more than $660K per year, which it obviuosly would be. The amount of compensation depends on how much the player signs for.

$660,000 or below = None
Over $660,000 to $1 million = Third Round
Over $1 million to $2.0 million = Second Round
Over $2.0 million to $3.0 million = First Round and Third Round
Over $3.0 million to $4.0 million = First Round, Second Round, and Third Round
Over $4.0 million to $5.0 million = Two First Rounds, Second Round, and Third Round
Over $5 million = Four First Rounds

Section 10.3 of the CBA discusses Offer Sheets http://www.nhl.com/cba/2005-CBA.pdf

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by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Aug 30, 2009 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions

11.4 spells out the December 1st deadline:

11.4 Signing Deadline for Group 2 Free Agent.
An SPC for a Group 2 Free Agent will be rejected and will be null and void ab initio (i.e., the Player’s Free Agency and
contractual status shall revert to the status he held prior to signing his SPC), if it is not
signed and filed with Central Registry by 5:00 p.m. New York time on December 1 in the
then current NHL Season.

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by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Aug 30, 2009 3:32 PM EDT up reply actions

The following, is part of the article from nypost.com (Aug 28 by Mark Everson) that I copied and am pasting here …. “Once Oct. 1 passes, the Bruins would be unable to match any Group 2 offer sheets, and would thus receive draft-pick compensation for Kessel. For salaries between $4.520 million and $6.026 million, compensation is a first-, second- and third-round pick”.
As your facts are from the CBA, you are probably correct in saying that Oct 1 is not an important date for the Bruins to sign Kessel. But you just about have to be a lawyer to read that CBA.

by Mr Spock on Aug 30, 2009 8:01 PM EDT up reply actions

The only reason they wouldn’t be able to match is because they would need to be below the cap before the start of the season (October 1st). The pick compensation might be correct because in the CBA it does mention something about the compensation being adjustable based on the current cap ceiling. That info was from 2005 and I didn’t do enough research or math to figure out the updated breakdown.

The NY Post is the pinnacle of journalist integrity and truth.

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by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Aug 30, 2009 9:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks. I definately interpreted that article wrong. I guess you actually have to think when you read newspapers. But it is like you say, once the season starts (Oct 1), teams have to be under the cap, and only because the Bruins are almost up to their cap limit, they wouldn’t be able to match offer sheets from other teams to Kessel. Ofcourse if they cleared up enough cap space before an offer sheet came from other teams after Oct 1, the Bruins would beable to match offer sheets made to Kessel (up to Dec 1).

by Mr Spock on Aug 31, 2009 10:03 AM EDT up reply actions

correct

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by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Aug 31, 2009 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions

The Boston Bruins still hold the cards and eventually they will have their player signed. My question is Boston is like 3 million over the cap how the heck do they work him in?
Someone is getting traded this fall.

by Eric B on Aug 31, 2009 12:11 AM EDT reply actions