Saturday, September 19, 2009

Sour Grapes In Beantown Over Phil Kessell

Departing briefly from our usual banter...

The Toronto Maple Leafs' acquisition yesterday of 21 year old right-winger and sniper, Phil Kessell, from the Boston Bruins has left a very bitter aftertaste with some in the Bruins' corner.

If [Kessell] thinks changing teams will make everything better, he needs to contemplate the axiom, “The grass is not always greener on the other wide of the fence.”

Toronto longed seemed his likely destination. Kessel now has the privilege of playing in a city where hockey is more a passionate religion than mere sport; with fans presuming he’ll be an automatic 50-goal-scoring savior and anything less will be seen as failure; for a coach, Ron Wilson, who can be mean, sarcastic and nasty; and a GM, Burke, who can be as intimidating as anyone in the league.

Good luck, Phil. You may be in for an unpleasant surprise or two.

...Kessel got a heck of a deal financially. But it seems obvious what would have been the best outcome for him: Take the offer from the B’s and stay right where he was. It’s unfortunate that won’t happen, maybe for Kessel most of all.

Bruins blogger, Jess Connelly, shares his pain:
It didn't have to end this way. Phil Kessel could have remained part of the core, a key cog to build around for years to come in the city of Boston. He could've helped bring the organization it's first championship in nearly four long, arduous decades. He could've ruled this town, representing the Black and Gold at All Star Game after All Star Game, contending for the Maurice "Rocket" Richard trophy season after season. His efforts and accomplishments over the next decade and beyond would've meant the world to championship-starved fans of the B's. With $27 million making it's way to his bank account over the next five years, however, we now know what really matters to Phil Kessel.
Hmm..

For the first time in years, I have a feeling the Leafs are about to make a bit of noise around the NHL.

I might actually start watching hockey again.

2 comments:

Furniture Rental Toronto said...

So instead of trading all his picks for over the hill, overpriced free agents, Burke traded all his for a completely unproven, slightly injury prone kid. If by making a bit of noise you're saying Leafs will embarrass themselves greatly then I agree.

Take care, Ella

@wiselaw said...

Well FRT (say that fast three times...), the folks in Boston don't seem to feel that way about Mr. Kessell. Let's just say it's gpong to be interesting to watch.