Back in 2019, Nazem Kadri was suspended for the remainder of the first-round series which pitted the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins after cross-checking Jake DeBrusk in the face. That suspension came on the back of his 2018 first-round three-game suspension for boarding Tommy Wingels of the Bruins. Then-general manager (GM) Kyle Dubas had seen enough and traded the forward, Calle Rosen, and Toronto’s 2020 third-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche for Tyson Barrie, the signing rights to Alexander Kerfoot and Colorado’s sixth-round pick in 2020. Kadri had the last laugh though as he won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs are still struggling to get past the first round.
After the latest elimination, head coach Sheldon Keefe was let go and GM Brad Treliving and president and alternate governor Brendan Shanahan admitted that everything was on the table and no stone would be left unturned to get the Maple Leafs to experience playoff success at long last. As discussed at length in the media since the team’s elimination, this could be it for the Core Four. However, could the odd man out who gets shipped out of town imitate Kadri and win elsewhere? How cringe-worthy would that be for the organization?
Why Was Kadri Sent Packing?
For years now, it’s been said the Maple Leafs are too soft to win in the playoffs, they need to play with physicality and grit. Funnily enough, that’s exactly what Kadri brought to the lineup, but he had a “slight” control problem. Defending your teammates is one thing, but getting the book regularly thrown at you without learning your lesson like a dog you’re trying to house-train is quite another.
Related: Revisiting the Nazem Kadri Trade
It’s hard to blame Dubas for getting fed up with Kadri’s antics and buying him a one-way ticket out of town, but the issue is what he got in return. What Kadri brought to the lineup and what the GM got in return was as different as possible. Furthermore, Barrie was never a great defenceman in his zone and that’s what the Maple Leafs would have needed if a blueliner was to be included in the deal.
How Kadri Fared in Colorado
In May 2021, in his second postseason playing for the Avalanche, Kadri was suspended for eight games for a hit to defenceman Justin Faulk’s head. Dubas must have thought “a leopard never changes his spots” when the sentence was handed down, but Kadri eventually got the last laugh.
Still, Colorado kept Kadri for the last year of his contract, and in the Spring of 2022, he was an integral part of Colorado’s run to a third championship in franchise history. In the 16 games he played, he recorded 15 points, scored an overtime winner in Game 4 and only spent eight minutes in the penalty box on the way to his first and only Stanley Cup win. Many Maple Leafs’ fans felt a pinch seeing Kadri raise the Cup wearing Colorado’s colours, including Kadri’s own father:
A big part of me (wishes he’d won as a Leaf),” the elder Kadri said of a 55-year drought. “If my son is ever no longer playing in the NHL, I’d love for the Leafs to win it.”
Source – ‘Nazem Kadri proud to parade Stanley Cup through hometown and into mosque where tragedy struck,’ Toronto Sun, Aug. 27, 2022.
Maple Leafs fans’ disappointment was understandable since Kadri was the third former Leaf to go win the Stanley Cup elsewhere after Phil Kessel with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tyler Bozak with the St. Louis Blues. That’s the kind of departure that lingers much longer for faithful fans and maybe even for the GMs who sent the players packing or let them leave when they became free agents.
Could A Marner Trade Lead to the Same Heartbreak?
In this year’s playoffs, while William Nylander was held out of the lineup by migraines, and Auston Matthews missed some games, it was Mitch Marner who became the butt of all jokes in the media being dubbed “The Invisible Man” on the Toronto Sun’s front page.
When a team is eliminated earlier than expected, people try to find a scapegoat. This time, it’s Marner and, as such, he has become the one everyone sees out of Toronto. Maple Leafs management should take its time before pulling the trigger on a Marner deal though.
Looking at the Core Four’s (and Morgan Rielly’s) career playoff numbers, should Marner be the one to leave? He’s got the best stats, better even than Matthews:
- Marner: 57 playoff games – 50 points, 0.88 points-per-game (P/G), plus-10
- Matthews: 55 playoff games – 48 points, 0.87 P/G, plus-2
- John Tavares: 62 playoff games – 46 points, 0.74 P/G, minus-14
- Nylander: 54 playoff games – 43 points, 0.80 P/G, plus-1
- Rielly: 57 playoff games – 40 points, 0.70 P/G, plus-1
Furthermore, down 3-1 in the series against the Bruins earlier this month, the team rallied and played as a well-oiled machine to win Games 5 and 6, without Matthews. Upon his return, in Game 7, they lost and were once again eliminated by Boston.
Imagine what would happen if the Maple Leafs’ brass sent Marner elsewhere and he went on to win the Cup just like Kessel, Bozak, and Kadri before him? The move certainly wouldn’t be acclaimed, unless, of course, Toronto manages to win the precious trophy first. At times like these, it must be very hard to be in the GM’s shoes right now.
