Major update on Phil Kessel trade rumor!

There is a huge trade rumor involving Pittsburgh Penguins star forward Phil Kessel, and now we have a big update on that rumor.

Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman was a guest on Sportsnet's 590 the Fan radio on Thursday when he was asked specifically about the rumor involving Kessel, and he appeared to confirm that the initial report was legitimate.

“But I do think that that speculation has some merit. I think the Penguins have, at the very least, looked at it. I don’t it’s necessarily a guarantee that it’s going to happen; but I do think Ron Cook, who is the columnist who wrote that, was not wrong,  at least in the idea of Pittsburgh investigating it.”

Why would the Penguins who are coming off back to back Stanley Cup Championships want to trade one of their star forwards? It sounds like Kessel's major cap hit may be an issue.

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“He’s at $6.8 million against their cap, yes, because Toronto has got a chunk of that,” noted Friedman as per Fanrag's Chris Nichols. “But yes, I think that would be a part of it. But I wonder. A couple of guys I was talking to about it yesterday say that Pittsburgh would probably have to eat some of that. I don’t know where you’re looking at a team that would want to take the full 6.8.

While this is pure speculation, the Penguins have been linked more and more to the trade speculation around Colorado Avalanche star Matt Duchene, and one has to wonder if these two rumors may somehow be connected to one another.