The Wild have been shopping Zucker
@Account4hockey: Michael Russo (The Athletic) said on Minnesota radio that the Minnesota Wild have shopped winger Jason Zucker too:
Calgary Flames for Michael Frolik/Sam Bennett.
Pittsburgh Penguins for Phil Kessel.
Arizona Coyotes for Christian Dvorak. The Coyotes countered with Christian Fischer.
Vegas Golden Knights for Jonathan Marchessault.
Vancouver Canucks for Brock Boeser.
The Penguins have had a previous interest in a current Coyotes forward
The Fourth Period: Phil Kessel wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause for the Minnesota Wild.
The Arizona Coyotes are one team that Kessel would waive his no-trade clause for.
Before the Montreal Canadiens traded Alex Galchenyuk to the Coyotes, the Pittsburgh Penguins showed some interest in him.
Galchenyk has a year left on his contract at a $4.9 million.
Kessel has three years left a $6.8 million cap hit. The Toronto Maple Leafs retain $1.2 million.
A Kessel trade would give the Penguins more direction
Rob Rossi of The Athletic: Knowing what type of return the Pittsburgh Penguins could get for Phil Kessel would go a long way in determining the rest of their offseason needs.
More specifically, are they able to NHL ready players or do they get draft picks, prospects, and salary cap space?
The Penguins do need to create some cap space by likely trading some veterans. They also need to get faster, smooth things over with Evgeni Malkin, and sign Matt Murray to an extension.
Kessel has an eight-team list he’d accept a trade to. GM Jim Rutherford may not like what those teams are offering – if offering anything at all – or those teams don’t like the asking price. Rutherford is not in a position of strength.
A source said that Kessel is okay with the idea of playing somewhere else.
It’s not known if Kessel wants to go to a team that is a legit Cup contender or if he wants to be somewhere where he is the top winger.