Phil Kessel to Penguins: Latest Trade Details, Comments Reaction

Since the NHL draft, Phil Kessel's name has been floated around as a possible trade target for teams around the NHL. On Wednesday, those rumors finally came to fruition, as Kessel was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins confirmed the acquisition of Kessel, Tyler Biggs and Tim Erixon in return for Kasperi Kapanen, Nick Spaling, Scott Harrington and a 2016 third-round draft choice. Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet was the first to report news of the agreement. 

Pittsburgh's release also detailed conditional draft picks built into the trade agreement:

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If Pittsburgh qualifies for the 2016 postseason, Toronto will receive the Penguins’ 2016 first-round draft pick; and the Penguins will receive Toronto’s 2016 second-round selection. The second-round pick would be the one Toronto originally acquired from Pittsburgh for Daniel Winnik earlier this year.

Should Pittsburgh miss the 2016 playoffs, Toronto will INSTEAD receive the Penguins’ 2017 first-round pick; with Pittsburgh getting Toronto’s 2017 second-round selection in return.

If the Penguins were to miss the postseason the next two years, Toronto would receive Pittsburgh’s 2017 second-round draft pick and Pittsburgh would not receive a draft pick.

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Bob McKenzie of TSN noted that the Maple Leafs would absorb some of Kessel's contract, per Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star, with Dreger reporting they would be eating 15 percent of that deal. 

The Maple Leafs paid Kessel's four-million dollar signing bonus, according to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.

Kessel, 27, scored 25 goals and added 36 assists for Toronto in 82 games last season. He has now scored 20 or more goals in seven straight seasons and 30 or more goals in five of those campaigns. He'll give the Penguins a dangerous winger for one of their two top lines, though Arthur suspects he may end up on the second unit:

“He's an elite scorer and has a lot of speed," Sidney Crosby said of Kessel, via Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I see him fitting in well with us. We’re excited to have him on our team.”

Spaling notched 27 points in 82 games for Pittsburgh last season, Harrington appeared in 10 games for the Pens, and Kapanen is one of the top prospects in their system after being selected No. 22 overall in the 2014 NHL draft. 

Still, the deal appears to be a win for the Penguins, who get an excellent scoring wing. Linda Cohn of ESPN certainly thinks the Pens will be dangerous next year:

For Toronto, it's a decent return for a player who was expensive, though getting full market value back for Kessel was going to be tough given that his name had been floated around in so many rumors and teams knew the Leafs wanted to move him.