When Nazem Kadri, the grandson of Lebanese immigrants, was traded from his beloved Toronto Maple Leafs to the Colorado Avalanche in 2019, he was devastated. Growing up in London, Ontario, he was a devoted Leafs fan who fulfilled a boyhood dream when he was drafted in the first round, seventh overall, by his “hometown” team in 2009.
A decade, and 161 goals later, Kadri found himself squeezed out by salary cap issues â and repeated postseason suspensions for on-ice violations didn’t help his cause.
In the end, the trade sending Kadri to the Colorado Avalanche worked out just fine. The left-handed shooting center scored 88 goals with 110 assists in his three years there, and most importantly was part of Colorado’s Stanley Cup winning team in 2022.
Time Right For Kadri to Reunite With Hometown Team
After that championship season, Kadri signed a seven-year, $49 million free agent contract with the Calgary Flames â where Toronto had earlier tried to trade him only to have Kadri block the deal using his no-trade clause.
Now, according to insider Adam Proteau of The Hockey News, the time is right for the Maple Leafs to bring the local boy Kadri back into the fold â especially after Leafs general manager Brad Treliving publicly acknowledged that the team had not filled the hole left by the departure of star winger Mitch Marner.
A potential free agent, Marner short-circuited the process by jointing the Vegas Golden Knights in a eight year, $96 million sign-and-trade deal.
“Weâre taking Treliving at his word, and we donât expect him to make any more notable moves in free agency,” wrote Proteau on Saturday. “So, trades are going to be the route the Maple Leafs make to fill that need, and one trade in particular makes a lot of sense for Toronto, is acquiring veteran center Nazem Kadri from the Calgary Flames in return for defenseman Morgan Rielly.”
In terms of cap impact were would be little difference for either side. Kadri’s contract carries a cap hit of $7 million per year. Rielly comes with a hit of $7.5 million. Rielley, also a veteran, is somewhat younger at age 31. His $60 million contract runs through the 2029-2030 season, taking him to age 36.
Some Skepticism Calgary Lets Kadri Go
Kadri’s contract does not terminate until he reaches age 38, after the 2028-2029 season. The disparity indicates that the Flames would be getting the better long-term value from deal. Or, if not the Flames, another team where Rielly ends up.
“Flames GM Craig Conroy would have to sell Rielly on coming to Calgary â at least, in the short term,” Proteau noted. “Why is that? Well, because the smart thing Conroy could do would be flipping Rielly to a playoff-bound team in need of an experienced blueliner who can contribute on offense and eat up 20 minutes a night. Thatâs probably not the Flames right now.”
The deal would make sense, the Hockey News scribe wrote, if Rielly â who also holds a no-trade clause â “agreed to be moved to Calgary for the time being, with the knowledge that he can direct Conroy as to where to flip him.”
But other NHL insiders are skeptical that the Flames will agree to move on from Kadri at all.
“I just think with Kadri the Flames have been asked about him before,” said NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast last week. “They have him for term unless he comes to them and says, ‘I don’t think it’s working here I want to go somewhere to compete.’ Or they absolutely get their socks blown off to the point where they have to go to him and say we want to do this.”
But Proteau sees the proposed deal as potentially real because, he says, it makes too much sense.
“If Treliving is able to pull off this deal, donât say you didnât see it coming,” Proteau wrote. “The fit on Torontoâs end is just about perfect, and the Leafsâ desire to change their makeup would be fulfilled by bringing Kadri back to a place he still considers home.”
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