The Toronto Maple Leafs will look to add at least one centerman this offseason, as a second-line or third-line center is needed.
The Maple Leafs have John Tavares as a pending free agent, but all signs point to him coming back. At this point in his career, he is a better third-line center, but regardless, Toronto is looking to add another centerman.
NHL analyst Jonas Siegel of The Athletic urged the Maple Leafs to trade for Nazem Kadri of the Calgary Flames.
“A couple of potentially significant complications here. 1. Kadri will be 35 in October and still has four years left on his contract, with a cap hit of $7 million. 2. Flames ownership might still have beef with Treliving from his exit in 2023,” Siegel wrote. (His contract was up. The beef is hard to fathom.) However, a reunion certainly has merit for the Leafs. For one thing, Kadri is still an effective player — he scored 35 goals and 67 points last season, playing over 19 minutes a night.”
Kadri is in the fourth year of his seven-year, $49 million deal. He would be a perfect second-line center for the Maple Leafs. Kadri was drafted by the Maple Leafs and was a fan favorite, but was traded after some dumb penalties and suspensions in the playoffs.
Last season with the Flames, Kadri recorded 35 goals and 32 assists for 67 points in 82 games.
Analyst Believes Kadri Would Change Maple Leafs Culture
If Toronto does trade for Kadri, Siegel would help change the culture.
Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said the team needs a DNA change and Siegel believes Kadri would help change that.
“The argument would be in part about personality. For better and worse, Kadri is Tavares’ opposite, feistier in a way that would move the “DNA” of the team in a different direction. He’s also been a much stronger playoff performer than Tavares,” Siegel wrote.
Also, Siegel points out that the people who traded Kadri are no longer in the organization, which could make a reunion more likely.
“The Leafs aren’t run by the same people (Brendan Shanahan, Kyle Dubas) as back then,” Siegel wrote. “However, the organization still would have to be comfortable bringing Kadri back with all that baggage in the rearview mirror, never mind his ability to remain effective on a deal that will last until he’s 38. The GM who signed him to that deal? That would be Treliving, when he was still the Flames GM.”
Kadri helped the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022.
Maple Leafs GM Says DNA Needs to Change
Toronto was eliminated in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Florida Panthers.
It was another playoff disappointment, and after the exit, Treliving made a bold comment about the core.
“There will be change moving forward, that’s just the nature of the business. We have to continue to change and evolve our mindset and create the team, both between the ears, personnel, to be our very best at the most critical moments,” Treliving said. “There’s some DNA that has to change on our team. If you keep getting to the same result, and that’s not to dismiss a lot of the good that (led) up to it. If you keep getting the same result, there’s some DNA that needs to change. That’s on me going forward, and our staff.”
The Maple Leafs enter the offseason with $25.7 million in cap space.
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