Mark Madden: Adding Phil Kessel for Kasperi Kapanen is not the answer for Penguins

Arizona wants to trade winger Phil Kessel.

The Penguins would doubtless love to trade winger Kasperi Kapanen.

Pull the trigger: Kessel for Kapanen. It’s a trade that would hurt both teams.

Penguins supporters have a fondness for recycling and certainly an affinity for Kessel, a major contributor and fan favorite during Stanley Cup runs in 2016 and ’17.

But with the Penguins’ structure crumbling, adding Kessel’s dereliction in that regard would be like taking a jackhammer to the cracks. (Not that it could get worse than Thursday’s 6-1 home loss to New Jersey. The Devils ran amok despite being 29 points behind the Penguins. Three goals conceded in the first 6:44 = not prepared to play.)

Kessel is an odd study. He’s scored 30 or more goals six times, including four seasons in a row from 2008-12. He was considered a sniper.

But near the end of his tenure in Pittsburgh, Kessel fancied himself more of a playmaker. He embraced making the extra pass.

Kessel topped 50 assists twice with the Penguins, but his reluctance to shoot became maddening.

He was an excellent distributor and organizer at the left half-wall on the power play. But opposition PKs leaned dramatically the other way (toward Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin) because they knew Kessel wouldn’t pull the trigger.

Kessel’s shots have dropped. He’s taken 109 in 51 games this season.

Worse yet, he’s got just six goals. That’s not a good number in a contract year.

But Kessel, 34, might be just as happy not playing hockey. It’s never seemed a burning passion, though his ongoing consecutive-games streak of 951 is impressive as well as testimony to religiously avoiding contact of any kind.

Kessel just needs enough money to play poker.

This isn’t intended to bury Kessel. He’s just a different cat. His results speak for themselves, and they speak well.

Kapanen’s don’t.

He has no points, only 19 shots and is minus-6 in his last 12 games. He has one goal in his last 19 games. His engagement is minimal, as witnessed by just four penalties on the year. Kapanen plays almost exclusively on the perimeter.

Kapanen had chemistry skating on Malkin’s line last season. But Kapanen has just a goal and five assists in the 19 games since Malkin’s return and has been yanked off Malkin’s line in mid-game on four occasions. Kapanen has hurt Malkin, not helped.

When a game isn’t going well for Kapanen, he quits. He’s admitted as much. He’s said to love hockey’s lifestyle more than he loves the game. His father Sami played in the NHL. Kapanen was born into a big-league locker room and seems to consider it his birthright to be there. (It’s not. He’s a restricted free agent at season’s end.)

Kapanen has utterly betrayed his first-round pedigree. His bloodline, too. He’s 25, and his career high to date is 20 goals. His next-best total is just 13.

Kessel is quirky. Kapanen is an empty jersey.

The worse news is, Kapanen might be the Penguins’ biggest piece of trade capital. So don’t expect a team-altering deal between now and the NHL’s March 21 deadline.

GM Ron Hextall would be reluctant to trade most players on the NHL roster.

He might swap left-sided defenseman Marcus Pettersson after his shambolic minus-3 showing Tuesday. Prospect P.O Joseph could fill in. It would be an educated gamble.

Or Hextall could trade Joseph.

Joseph was acquired from Arizona in the trade that sent Kessel the other way following the 2018-19 season. He was a first-round pick in 2017. Ex-GM Jim Rutherford liked Joseph. But current management doesn’t, perhaps feeling his frame is too slight to withstand the rigors of the NHL. Joseph is listed as 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, but the latter figure is exaggerated.

Rutherford drafted Kapanen and traded for him. He dealt for Joseph. Rutherford is now president of hockey operations in Vancouver. Make the call.