from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- Here’s my sense of what’s going on with Phil Kessel: he vetoed a trade to Minnesota and the story is out because both teams are unhappy. He cannot be traded to the Wild without specific approval, and, if you know Kessel, you know he will stand up for his rights no matter what anyone else thinks. The fact it got out may make it even harder to complete, because he’ll push back against pressure.

I’d heard things went badly last season between him and the organization, and this confirms it. He knows he will be traded because there’s no benefit to staying, but he’s going to make sure it is on his terms if the Penguins want to send him anywhere other than his eight-team list. My guess is Arizona would be high on his choice of destinations, but I don’t see an easy fit. The Penguins want scoring in return and the Coyotes finished 28th in goals-for. Memorial Day weekend comes at a perfect time for everyone to take a deep breath, drink some strawberry daiquiris, then search for a solution.

- We just passed the fourth anniversary of Mike Babcock’s hiring in Toronto. Babcock made it very clear that he hoped others benefitted from his eight-year, $50-million-ish mega deal and that is indeed happening. It is believed that Babcock, Florida’s Joel Quenneville, Montreal’s Claude Julien and Philadelphia’s Alain Vigneault’s average at least $5 million per year, while Ralph Krueger (Buffalo) and Todd McLellan (Los Angeles) weren’t too far off. Coaches are loathe to reveal their numbers to annoying reporters, but the estimation is that the average bench boss now makes between $2.5-$3 million per season. That’s a big win for them.

- Outstanding gesture of the week: The late, great Dan Kelly called the Blues’ last Stanley Cup games in 1970. Son John is their regular television play-by-play voice, but local tandems do not work in-game after the first round of the playoffs. However, the team’s radio voice, Chris Kerber, graciously offered Kelly the opportunity to call one period per game during the final. Not only does that keep the “Kelly Cup” tradition alive in St. Louis, but allows both voices to fulfill what everyone dreams to do.

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