If everything falls into place (no Connolly injuries or other significant injuries; Liles has relatively seamless integration on the PP) then maybe, but I still don't see anyone on the Leafs breaking the 70-point barrier this year.

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"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

Twitter: @ross10019

CBS Sportsline 14 team H2H keeper (21-man roster, 14 keepers), weekly lineup changes
G, A, PPP, SOG, BS, +/-, GAA, W, SV%
Montreal Maulers - 2011/12 and 2012/13 League Champions
C: Zetterberg/Getzlaf/Granlund/Roy/Desharnais
W: Hossa/Gaborik/Moulson/Marleau/Fleischmann/Horton/Brown/Baertschi(IR)
D: Markov/Karlsson(IR)/Letang/Byfuglien/McDonagh/Tyutin/Spurgeon
G: Lundqvist/Hiller/Brodeur

Kessels production won't overly jump.

Connolly isn't exactly an elite talent. When he gets injured, who is Kessel going back to play with?

His absolute max this year is 70 I say. 38-32

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G,A,+/-,PPP,SHP,GWG,W,SV%,SO
12 Man H2H Keeper League
C - E.Malkin(rw)/B.Boyes(rw)/B. Sutter
LW - B.Ryan/M.Duchene(c)/R.Nash/T.Fleischmann/M.Paajarvi
RW - T.Selanne/C.Giroux(c)/J.Iginla/D.Alfredsson/C.Atkinson
D - M.Green/D.Byfuglien(rw)/R.Suter/O.Ekman-Larsson/J.Carlson/J.Brodin/C.Fowler
G - J.Hiller/J.Halak/J.Howard/J.Markstrom


Farm - A.York/J.Gibson/P.Grubauer/R.Murphy

I think people are overstating the impact of playing with better linemates.
Even if they upgrade on Connolly at some point, a prototypical elite playmaking centre might help Phil reach the 40 goal mark, sure, but it will also hurt his assist totals as he will be the goto goal scorer at that point.
So I wouldn't be shocked to see 40-25, or even 40-30 at some point.
But come on, Phil Kessel - a point per game player? Not a chance. Mark my words.

Truth!!!!!!!!!!

man that is some finnnnnnneeeee bud you've got in your bong apparently, how bout hooking the rest of us up with some of that giggle weed?

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Thats me on the street with a violin under my chin, playing with a grin, singing gibberish.





P=1 DPts=1.2 +/-=.32 PIM=.08 PPP=.4 SHP=.6 S=.015 Blk=.2 Hit=.08
W=2 OTL=.8 GA=-.64 SV=.08 SO=3

Pro (23 keep 17)
C- Filppula,Turris,Stastny,Backstrom
D-Boyle,MDZ,Karlsson,Robidas,Goligoski,Schenn,Seiden berg
G-Anderson,Hiller,Rinne
LW-Malone,Parise,Rolston,Eriksson,Ruutu
RW-Alfredsson,Callahan,Setoguchi,Brown,Ryder,Vrbata

Farm (9 keep all, max 200 GP, 100 Goalies)
Colborne,Leblanc,Loktionov,Perreault,Tangradi,Blum ,Poulin,Markstrom

Point prediction for Kessel?

Last three years
Team GP Goals Points
Bos 70 36 60
Tor 70 30 55
Tor 82 32 64

Seems like he is a 30+ goal scorer who will get 25+ assists. He also seems to miss about 8 games a year on average. If nothing changes, and neither he nor the team gets better, I would expect low 60's in total points. He will get his goals (a sniper who takes a ton of shots), but history shows that he is no setup man.

If you believe, like I do, that the Leafs are getting better, then I would put him at the high 60's (that is what I would predict) since he will likely get more assists from teammates. If the Leafs field a talented playoff team sometime before the 2020's, then I could see him going to the mid-70's.

Using Dobber's definition for "upside", I would peg him at 45G 35A. The stars would really have to align for that to happen (see Cheechoo, J.).

so do vancouver fans. there are fans from every team that do, so dont just single out a whole team's fanbase when you dont agree with a prediction.

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XBOX 360 Gamertag: praba911

I would like to take this moment to say that I am a Leafs fan before I address this.

80-90?!?!?! Who's he playing with Crosby? You want to know a guy who would hit 80 pts year in year out if he had a team around him? Rick Nash...and sorry to say Kessel is no Nash.

Granted he will score between 30-36 goals on average and yes I will also say he will hit 40 once or twice over the course of his career but he is not even a 70 point man on average. He is a 30-30 to 34-34 point guy per year losing 6-9 games per year due to injury.

1) He plays soft and is often invisible. Thankfully they show him during commercial breaks or us Leafs fans wouldn't see him most nights. He doesn't play the corners/behind the net. I get it he isn't a physical presence but come on at least bump and grind a bit....your not going to get the puck put on your tape all the time when your on a team that isn't exactly stacked with talent.

2) Needs to get closer to the net. Shooting close to 60% of your shots from the hash marks on the boards is taking him out of the equation. Your not going to score that far out on a regular basis. 8-10 feet from the net would improve his numbers greatly.

3) Speed. Where is it? He puts together a couple of good games and he seems to run out of gas. He runs into a average to slightly above average D-man squad gets bumped around a little bit and he is frustrated the rest of the night whether they are on him or not.

I WANT him to be an 80+ pt guy....but I KNOW he is a 65 pt guy.

Bingo. I'd love for him to crack 80 because I know it will help my team. But I've seen him enough to know it won't happen.
I'm trying to think of a former Leaf to compare him to, and Sergei Berezin comes to mind. Very fun to watch. Flashy. Good shot.
But so predictable.
So very soft. Like right out of the dryer, with extra bounce pads, soft.
So one dimensional.
So poor defensively.

I don't mean to be so negative on Phil the Thrill. He's a quality goal scorer and hopefully he can work on the weaker aspects of his game.

I believe he was being sarcastic.

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