BGDave
Grumpy Old Man
Because the Leafs are asking for way too much
If the Panthers gave up Nick Bjugstad or Jonathan Huberdeau along with a first round pick and another possible piece, Dale Tallon would get justifiably destroyed for it - Phil Kessel is one of the better goal scorers in the league but he's only going to help a team get over the top - if you have to dismantle your roster and give up your best players to get him, why would you do that?
The problem with some of those other teams, like the Rangers is that they don't have a god damn asset to deal in order to get a player like Kessel because they've been flushing those assets down the toilet for years
People have to realize that it has to be a perfect situation in order for a trade of that caliber of a player to happen - teams have to be right there on the cusp of a cup where that one player can change the dynamic of their team - and that team needs to have the assets to get a deal done - for example, the Panthers have the assets but even if they do have a marked improvement next season and make the playoffs, they'd most likely wouldn't be a true cup contender just yet
Besides, the Panthers aren't trading someone they just gave a long term extension to AND they sure as hell won't trade Huby because him, Jagr and Barkov have AMAZING chemistry and that line wrecked the rest of the league in the last month of the season - why break that up?
Fair enough. I was not suggesting FLA were "insane" or "crazy" to pass on Phil. My comments were more general in nature. More of an observation on the general consensus from many teams that TOR is asking too much. As you explained, I can see why FLA is not a good fit for Phil, at least not at the price TOR apparently is asking. No worries.
And besides, I just wanted to say "K-dog".
Yes, I am having a bad week.