Shocking potential trade destination for Phil Kessel.

A recent article from Matt Larkin of The Hockey News has suggested a highly interesting and highly controversial trade destination for Phil Kessel.

That’s just one reason why I ask you not to gasp at this mental image: Phil Kessel in bleu, blanc, et rouge. Frank Mahovlich did it. Doug Gilmour did it. It can happen.

While on the surface Larkin's suggestion may feel like hockey blasphemy it does make a lot of sense when you really think about it. Toronto is in a full rebuild, one that many have speculated will include trading both Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel in the attempt to form a new core leadership group. On the Montreal side of the coin they have the cap space to accommodate Phil Kessel and he brings something that they desperately need, scoring. So what could a Phil Kessel to Montreal trade look like? Well first we have to look at the salary cap situation in Montreal, they currently have $10.2 million dollars of cap space, more than enough to accommodate Kessel. However the Habs will likely look to retain free agent defenseman Jeff Petry especially given the decline in performance from Andrei Markov. There's also a very real possibility that they want to keep Torrey Mitchell after he performed well for them, and at the very top of the list would be re-signing RFA Alex Galchenyuk. It appears more than likely Montreal would need to trade away a big contract if they want to bring in Kessel under the cap and both Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau and Tomas Plekanec would fit that bill. Given the current backlash Plekanec is facing in Montreal for his poor performance in the playoffs he would be the likely candidate. Toronto on the other hand wants young talent and the potential to acquire young talent in exchange, that means high value prospects and high value draft picks. Zach Fucale, Jacob De La Rose and the aforementioned Alex Galchenyuk would all be at the very least a part of the discussion, and you can bet Toronto would also be looking to acquire a first round pick in any deal that included Kessel. Would you consider this trade if you were the GM of either team?