The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a full rebuild, and one of the keys to that plan was trading maligned star Phil Kessel.
The Leafs accomplished that task within hours of the opening of free agency Wednesday, as Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos confirmed live on-air that Toronto traded Kessel to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The move was rumored to be in the works for days. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that the Penguins and Maple Leafs were working on getting a deal done during the NHL Draft but were not able to reach an agreement.
Kessel was a 50-plus point scorer in each of his last seven seasons, but his off-ice issues often earned him a spot in the dog house. The Toronto media attacked Kessel for being "uncoachable" and Kessel was involved in numerous other tiffs with the media during his six years in Pittsburgh.
That behavior likely would not work well with new Toronto coach Mike Babcock's insistence on player accountability.
"We’re going to be a team that comes to the media everyday, after a win, after a loss, after practice, and owns their own stuff, period," Babcock recently told reporters.
Kessel will also no longer have to be the offensive leader of a team, as he joins a talented top-six in Pittsburgh which features superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby scored 84 points in 77 games last season while Malkin recorded 70 points in 69 games.
