In his latest rumblings blog for ESPN, Pierre Lebrun discussed the market for Vancouver Canucks center Ryan Kesler and how it’s impacting the offers for Jason Spezza.
“The Kesler situation greatly affects what the Ottawa Senators do with center Jason Spezza, who, like Kesler, has asked out. It feels almost as though the Senators have to wait to see if or where Kesler gets dealt before moving on to the next phase of trade talks on the Spezza front.”
Ugh.
Waiting for the dominoes to fall when another team controls the market is hardly ideal.
The problem is that the Canucks can patiently wait for a team to meet their asking price.
“The one thing Kesler can’t dictate, however, is forcing the Vancouver Canucks to trade him. Unless and until either Anaheim or Chicago presents a package that the Canucks believe is worthy, they won’t move him, one source said. These things can change with one single conversation, but as of Tuesday afternoon, no trade for Kesler was imminent.”
Coupled with news that Colorado Avalanche center Paul Stastny is willing to listen to offers starting this Wednesday, the market for Spezza may drag out past July 1st -the first day of NHL free agency, especially when the Canucks are reportedly asking for the moon.
Regarding Kesler, I hear the Canucks want Saad or Teravainen in any package. I can’t imagine any possibility the #Blackhawks offer either.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) June 24, 2014
Well, you cannot blame the Canucks for asking for a king’s ransom so that they can feel comfortable moving him to a Conference rival. And should Kesler wind up with the Blackhawks, the hope would be that the rest of the Western Conference, including the Blues and the Ducks — the two teams most linked in their interest to the Senators’ Spezza — engage in an arms race and significantly improve their offers.
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