Contract negotiations between the Bruins and restricted free agent Phil Kessel continue to be heading in the wrong direction, reports the Boston Globe. According to the paper, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli remains hopeful a deal will be struck.
"Right now, there is nothing going on," Chiarelli told the Globe. "This is a player that we still covet, and we'll do anything to keep him - within reason, including matching an offer sheet and shuffling our roster around."
However, the two sides still appear to be at a standstill as the Kessel camp seems to be holding out for something in the neighborhood of $4 million plus.
It has been widely reported that Boston will not give Kessel more than David Krejci money ($3.75 million). However, it is not known whether or not Boston has even approached that number.
When asked if Kessel is holding out for the big bucks, Kessel responded with a short answer, "No." Kessel has said he would ideally like to make something in the upper four range, but has not asked for anything above that mark, even at the start of negotiations.
Kessel said he understood that this is a business and that he knows there is a real chance that he may be in another uniform in 09-10. The speedster did say that he is ahead of schedule and expects to be back on the ice in mid November, whether he will be wearing a Bruins sweater or not.
If Kessel is not back in Boston, where will he end up? The list of teams floated out there have been San Jose, Edmonton and Vancouver. Much of the rumors have had to do with San Jose, but I am more inclined to think Kessel would end up in Vancouver or Edmonton.
The clock is ticking, with the start of camp just a few weeks away. However, since Kessel would not be on the ice anyway, things could still drag out well into September or beyond.
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