According to the Boston Globe, Phil Kessel doesn't plan on negotiating any longer with the Bruins and will instead try to sign a free-agent offer sheet with another team.
Per CBA rules and guidelines, the Bruins still reserve the right to match any offer sheet Kessel signs, so this latest information in the negotiations doesn't mean that Kessel won't return to Boston. But if the Bruins do match the offer sheet, they are prohibited from trading Kessel during the first year of his new contract.
The Bruins have tried to sign Kessel to a deal on the level of the three-year, $11.35 million deal 23-year old David Krejci signed with the team earlier in the offseason. Kessel believes he is worth more and told the Boston Globe from the U.S. Olympic orientation camp that Krejci's contract was not relevant to his own deal.
Kessel led the Bruins with 36 goals last season. The 11 players ahead of him on the NHL scoring list will
average $6.5 million in average cap hit for the upcoming season. With only $1.7 million in cap space remaining for the coming season,
the Bruins would have to move some money around and adjust their roster to make room for Kessel.
