Nick wroteCOLONI do not believe Kessel is in the same realm as Giroux/Toews - but he's very different from either of them.
Pure scorers get paid, Vanek as a nice example. Neither he nor Phil have anything close to a complete game, but they are exceptional skills and get paid a lot for it. I hate Kessel's game and I do watch every single one FWIW. But comparable contracts he's easily worth this.
Career stats are a silly comparison IMO, I want someone to be paid for what they are doing for us, not what they did, not for what they might one day do; and I believe that is what Phil is getting - he's going to be our #1 or #2 scorer for a while yet, and he should be top 10 in goals top 15 in points for some time. Not a great contract, but not an over-payment either.
You hate Kessels game
You hate Fransons game
You love Gardiners game
i'm just trying to figure out what type of game you like?
Kessel played a fantastic 2 way game last year, sure he didn't PK a ton, or toss a lot of hits, but he backchecked and made smart first passes out of the defensive zone.
not trying to pick a fight, i'm just trying to figure out how much of an actual leaf game you watch? like id even totally understand if you said "i work on my laptop while watching leaf games" that would explain all the little things you miss during a 60min game, like Franson tossing a big hit, or kessel having a solid backcheck before he turns the puck around to go down and score.