Details Surrounding Nazem Kadri Trade

[All Mod Cons]

This sort of sums up the previous management group for me.

 

[All Mod Cons]

I'm not gonna get into the discussion of this too much because I'm gonna eventually read the book myself soon, but all I will say is that anyone who wants to tar and feather Kadri and call him an idiot for sticking up for his team and wearing his heart on his sleeve can get lost. Unlike other cowards who couldn't handle this market, he embraced all the adversity and scrutiny and wanted to be a Leaf for life. He proudly wore that crest every f***ing night and he went to war for his team. Even Matthews and others have mentioned in recent years after the trade that Naz was the best teammate and had a great attitude and outlook in the room. He had his warts but for better or for us he embraced who he was and truly grew up here, and he had the back of his team.

Blame the league for their double standard on reffing and supplementary discipline, or for the management and team for creating a cowardly culture where guys didn't have each other's backs. Why did it always land on Naz? DeBrusk almost pulled a Chara-Pacioretty on a respected vet like Marleau and there was no discipline for that. A season later Chara does EXACTY what Kadri did to DeBrusk but even more blatantly to Gallagher (he even mocks Gallagher for jerking back his neck out of recoil) and he doesn't even get a f***ing penalty Let alone a suspension, only a pathetic 5K fine. A 6'9 ogre doing that to a dude who is 5'10 at most in good lighting, what an absolute joke.

Naz loved Toronto and I wish we had more players who played with pride and passion like him. f*** Dubas for that dog shit video game trade, Barrie solved none of our problems and if anything was emblematic of the exact issues this team had in its roster construction, and was also a heartless coward himself

I think this sums it up perfectly.

 

[A1LeafNation]

I don't see what's so bad. He was lucky he was told anything.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

I don't see what's so bad. He was lucky he was told anything.

Was he? He signed a longterm sweetheart deal and all he got was a 10 team no trade that kicked in a couple years into the deal.

I think the lucky ones are all the losers that got overpaid and better trade protection in the years afterwards.

 

[A1LeafNation]

Was he? He signed a longterm sweetheart deal and all he got was a 10 team no trade that kicked in a couple years into the deal.

I think the lucky ones are all the losers that got overpaid and better trade protection in the years afterwards.

True, but GM builds the team the way he sees fit.

It was wrong, but don't blame him for this decision. It's business.

 

[647Hockey]

Not sure what the issue is. He was traded like every other player. Kadri even had a clause for him not to go to Calgary, and he didnt.

His wife being pregnant should have nothing to with it. Especially sports where players are moved around and traded so it's important for teams to max out what they can get before the opportunity disappears.

But it really doesn't matter unless someone thinks that a player cant get traded, or a normal job guy isnt allowed to get fired as long as his wife is pregnant.

Sports (and any job) is a two way street. Sometimes management are bums. Sometimes the person is a scumbag too. Looks how many times in life a player or normal guy gets a good gig, gets paid well and totally sucks. It's not like the company can force him to take less pay. They got to live with it till they get rid of him or he quits.

As for Kadri, he also f***ed up screwing the leafs with bad penalties and suspensions at the worst time. Playoff time.

 

[Guided by Veseys]

Should have put him on left wing with Tavares and Marner as linemates and then went hard for a quality third line centre (probably could have gotten legendary Kerfoot for a 3rd or b prospect). We would have won the cup years ago. The leafs brass can’t assemble a winner.

 

[arso40]

Should have put him on left wing with Tavares and Marner as linemates and then went hard for a quality third line centre (probably could have gotten legendary Kerfoot for a 3rd or b prospect). We would have won the cup years ago. The leafs brass can’t assemble a winner.

Should have not signed Tavares and looked for a checcin 3rd line center that could handle the fighting and tough stuff

 

[LeafEgo]

Should have not signed Tavares and looked for a checcin 3rd line center that could handle the fighting and tough stuff

Matty > Kadri > Bennett would have been a hell of a thing in retrospect.

 

[Squiffy]

Ya I liked Naz and his game, and I wish it all went down differently, but he was getting traded. It was untenable at that time. Had to happen for both parties. Worked out for Naz, didn’t for Leafs.

Nothing unseemly here. Trade went down per contractual obligations, no leaking. If you want scuzzy, see Leafs treatment of Muskoka Four for believing in the team. Didn’t sit well then and still doesn’t. Posters among us with long memories will vouch for that lol..

 

[francis246]

Was he? He signed a longterm sweetheart deal and all he got was a 10 team no trade that kicked in a couple years into the deal.

I think the lucky ones are all the losers that got overpaid and better trade protection in the years afterwards.

The trade ended up being the best thing to happen to him. He got a cup, his value around the league rose and he got a sweet retirement contract.

I know he wanted to stay but there’s no telling how that would have went for him.

 

[Apex Predator]

I don’t really see anything bad. I’m not the biggest Dubas fan but he was cut throat and made a decision. People want us to be like Vegas and this is the kind of stuff you do.

 

[Menzinger]

Eh, that front office earned criticism for the outcome of it all, but part of the business is players can get traded at anytime. Kadri knew he didn't have full trade protection and could be moved to any team not on his list

 

[seanlinden]

I'm not gonna get into the discussion of this too much because I'm gonna eventually read the book myself soon, but all I will say is that anyone who wants to tar and feather Kadri and call him an idiot for sticking up for his team and wearing his heart on his sleeve can get lost. Unlike other cowards who couldn't handle this market, he embraced all the adversity and scrutiny and wanted to be a Leaf for life. He proudly wore that crest every f***ing night and he went to war for his team. Even Matthews and others have mentioned in recent years after the trade that Naz was the best teammate and had a great attitude and outlook in the room. He had his warts but for better or for us he embraced who he was and truly grew up here, and he had the back of his team.

Blame the league for their double standard on reffing and supplementary discipline, or for the management and team for creating a cowardly culture where guys didn't have each other's backs. Why did it always land on Naz? DeBrusk almost pulled a Chara-Pacioretty on a respected vet like Marleau and there was no discipline for that. A season later Chara does EXACTY what Kadri did to DeBrusk but even more blatantly to Gallagher (he even mocks Gallagher for jerking back his neck out of recoil) and he doesn't even get a f***ing penalty Let alone a suspension, only a pathetic 5K fine. A 6'9 ogre doing that to a dude who is 5'10 at most in good lighting, what an absolute joke.

Naz loved Toronto and I wish we had more players who played with pride and passion like him. f*** Dubas for that dog shit video game trade, Barrie solved none of our problems and if anything was emblematic of the exact issues this team had in its roster construction, and was also a heartless coward himself

I don't think anyone ever questioned Kadri's passion for being a Leaf... it was his inability to keep his game in check when the emotions got high. You can't hit Tommy Wingels when he's on his knees, facing the boards.... and you cannot cross check a guy in the face, especially not if you're Nazem Kadri with a long list of disciplinary action.

Yeah, it was a stupid trade, but you look at just how good that Leafs team was the year they had Tavares (47 goals), Matthews and Kadri up the middle.... the matchup problems that trio created for Boston... and how neutered the lineup became after the suspension, and you can't really blame them for deciding it was time to move on.

 

[Evilhomer]

None of this seems bad. He signed up for a job. He was an employee. He knows he can be traded at any time outside of freezes.

He was still on the team. Therefore in the plans and was expected to work. He got traded and had months before he moved.

Movers are not expensive and it doesn’t take months.

Players with full ntc get threatened with waivers.

This happens all the time.

Thank you. The guy is paid millions of dollars and part of the deal is that his employer can move him to a new location, just like lots of other jobs. His wife was pregnant? Guess what, lots of people move locations with a kid on the way. I did it, but I don't remember anyone playing any violins for me. Suck it up, buttercup.

 

[seanlinden]

Thank you. The guy is paid millions of dollars and part of the deal is that his employer can move him to a new location, just like lots of other jobs. His wife was pregnant? Guess what, lots of people move locations with a kid on the way. I did it, but I don't remember anyone playing any violins for me. Suck it up, buttercup.

This...

Plus, what if his wife was due during the season, right around when the Leafs are on their 5-game western road trip? Are they going to let him stay home because the baby might come?

If traded mid-season, maybe you can argue that the Avs should have given him a couple of days before needing to report.... but as far as "humanity" goes... this was pretty humane. He got traded July 1, he had a month and a half to move before he should have been in Colorado, and a little over 2 months between when he would have had to be in Colorado.

Yes, a month and a half isn't a lot to pick up your entire life, but that's a heck of a lot better than the "standard" that NHL players get.

 

[Aashir]

I'm not gonna get into the discussion of this too much because I'm gonna eventually read the book myself soon, but all I will say is that anyone who wants to tar and feather Kadri and call him an idiot for sticking up for his team and wearing his heart on his sleeve can get lost. Unlike other cowards who couldn't handle this market, he embraced all the adversity and scrutiny and wanted to be a Leaf for life. He proudly wore that crest every f***ing night and he went to war for his team. Even Matthews and others have mentioned in recent years after the trade that Naz was the best teammate and had a great attitude and outlook in the room. He had his warts but for better or for us he embraced who he was and truly grew up here, and he had the back of his team.

Blame the league for their double standard on reffing and supplementary discipline, or for the management and team for creating a cowardly culture where guys didn't have each other's backs. Why did it always land on Naz? DeBrusk almost pulled a Chara-Pacioretty on a respected vet like Marleau and there was no discipline for that. A season later Chara does EXACTY what Kadri did to DeBrusk but even more blatantly to Gallagher (he even mocks Gallagher for jerking back his neck out of recoil) and he doesn't even get a f***ing penalty Let alone a suspension, only a pathetic 5K fine. A 6'9 ogre doing that to a dude who is 5'10 at most in good lighting, what an absolute joke.

Naz loved Toronto and I wish we had more players who played with pride and passion like him. f*** Dubas for that dog shit video game trade, Barrie solved none of our problems and if anything was emblematic of the exact issues this team had in its roster construction, and was also a heartless coward himself

Kadri to me looked like a domi but better hockey player, or at least less flawed

Silky smooth hands, much better goal scorer, an actual option for PP1, and biggest thing is he stood up for the team. I think he is as hot tempered as domi is but when you have guys like McCabe and Benoit and Knies and Bert(last playoffs), you don't shoulder the burden all on yourself and in turn toe the line, and even cross it. FFS Matthews plays physical AF and even Nylander and Tavares throw some hits come playoff time. Had our team been like that back then, I believe he wouldn't get suspended.

Also for the trade, at best case barrie goes 60-80 points and now you either can't afford him or have to trade rielly, making a lateral move, and at worst it was what we got. A SOFT, slow, weak, bottom pairing calibre defencemen. We also had to pay Muzzin so where was the future planning in this move.

Kerfoot had 7 good games for the leafs, that montreal series. He was a disgrace to the 3C title and had to play with nylander and tavares to get points.

Kadri is like Domi, and both are players Dubas and his fans don't/didn't like . Dubas learned how f***ed up his ideology was with the O'Rielly, Acciari, McCabe pickups, but it was too late.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Kadri to me looked like a domi but better hockey player, or at least less flawed

Silky smooth hands, much better goal scorer, an actual option for PP1, and biggest thing is he stood up for the team. I think he is as hot tempered as domi is but when you have guys like McCabe and Benoit and Knies and Bert(last playoffs), you don't shoulder the burden all on yourself and in turn toe the line, and even cross it. FFS Matthews plays physical AF and even Nylander and Tavares throw some hits come playoff time. Had our team been like that back then, I believe he wouldn't get suspended.

Also for the trade, at best case barrie goes 60-80 points and now you either can't afford him or have to trade rielly, making a lateral move, and at worst it was what we got. A SOFT, slow, weak, bottom pairing calibre defencemen. We also had to pay Muzzin so where was the future planning in this move.

Kerfoot had 7 good games for the leafs, that montreal series. He was a disgrace to the 3C title and had to play with nylander and tavares to get points.

Kadri is like Domi, and both are players Dubas and his fans don't/didn't like . Dubas learned how f***ed up his ideology was with the O'Rielly, Acciari, McCabe pickups, but it was too late.

It's a bit ironic that when Dubas finally seemed to learn his lesson and started putting a bigger emphasis on size, grit, and skilled physicality he gets canned. Brought in O'Reilly, McCabe, Acciari, Schenn, and Lafferty for the 2023 run. Added size to the system by drafting Knies, Grebenkin, and Minten, signing McMann, and trading for Timmins. But like you said it was too late.

 

[colchar]

In his new book "Dreamer: My Life On The Edge" Nazem Kadri goes into detail about the circumstances around the trade that saw him leave Toronto. Suffice to say then GM Kyle Dubas and the rest of the Leafs brass at the time come out looking pretty duplicitous.

View attachment 920643View attachment 920644

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849183278177149178

Now I'm not going to front, I wanted Kadri dealt after his second straight playoff suspension. However, the way with which the Leafs went about doing it is so scummy. Why lie to the guy and say he's still part of the future here when you were planning to deal him? Why are Calgary players and management brought in to try and convince him to waive his NTC? You're own players get confused and the guy you lied to has to cover your ass? And all this when the dude's wife is about to have a kid and thinks he's not going anywhere.

All this secrecy and sneaking to ultimately rush a trade for Tyson Barrie and Alex Kerfoot.

You believe his version of events as being the truth? Talk about being naive.

 

[leafs in five]

has it ever been reported what the return from calgary would have included?

 

[Anthrax442]

I think some posters show their recency bias here. Everyone was fed up with his antics when he was traded. He was getting suspended by the league and by the team. Completely immature and boneheaded decisions. His great last season in Colorado including the cup run reignited a lot of Leafs fans fake memory of him of being this greatly underappreciated player. Most fans were ready to drive him to the airport and carry his bags to gtfo of here. In a lot of people's eyes he (potentially) cost the Leafs 2 playoffs runs.

These memoirs are weird, they are too subjective and there is no way that he didn't know that the team was done with him. He was actively being shopped and this was all over the news. The deal in the end was too forced. Yes we got Barrie ,a puck moving RHD that we needed really badly, but in the end he never fit here and he was a huge defensive liability and Kerfoot was a fine player, but not a difference maker like Kadri could have been.

 

[Nineteen67]

Objectively... what are you going to do?

Tell him that "we're going to try and trade you", knowing its a possibility that you may not find the right deal... now he's stuck coming back to a team that has already told him "we don't want you anymore".

Like yeah, it's not great that he was traded when his wife was about to give birth... but that's the reality of the summer. Deals get done when deals get done. Better to rip off the bandaid when it comes. As others have mentioned, he was traded on July 1, captain's skates typically begin in late August. Be a lot worse getting traded midseason.

There's also another possibility that this version of the story probably doesn't consider -- that circumstances change.

Maybe somebody from above Dubas said "Kadri needs to go". Maybe they got a "knock your socks off" return from Calgary, and felt that once they had tried to trade him once, there was no repairing the relationship so they had to trade him elsewhere.

You tell him he’s part of the plan and then when the time comes you inform him about the possibility of trading him to a team on his no move list so he’s not hearing about from players on the other team.

 

[francis246]

This...

Plus, what if his wife was due during the season, right around when the Leafs are on their 5-game western road trip? Are they going to let him stay home because the baby might come?

If traded mid-season, maybe you can argue that the Avs should have given him a couple of days before needing to report.... but as far as "humanity" goes... this was pretty humane. He got traded July 1, he had a month and a half to move before he should have been in Colorado, and a little over 2 months between when he would have had to be in Colorado.

Yes, a month and a half isn't a lot to pick up your entire life, but that's a heck of a lot better than the "standard" that NHL players get.

Absolutely and anyone who has been a leafs fan for a while knew Naz was getting traded someday. People forget he was a headache for the organization before the playoff suspensions. He was late to practice multiple times, then suspended internally, lots of questions about his maturity. Then there was the Lupul thing lol, idk if he has enough good will internally. I think behind the scenes someone higher than Dubas decided enough was enough. Loved Kadri as a player and what he represented but I’m not surprised it ended the way it did

 

[Dekes For Days]

Lmao. "Duplicitous"? "Scummy"? Good lord. I know some people around here will attack Dubas for breathing, but it's literally just normal business in the NHL. People here demand we do scummy things like Vegas, and then we literally just do what everybody else does, and suddenly it's "how could you!?".

Being traded is part of being an NHL player, and most players don't know they're being traded until they're traded. Some people find out on TV, for goodness sake. End of season check-ins aren't for that; especially when they likely didn't even know if they were trading him at that point. I doubt trade discussions had even happened, as the playoffs were still ongoing, and you're part of the team until you're part of a different team.

The team can't make decisions based on a player's wife being pregnant, and after a long history of discipline issues and costing his team for the second year in a row in the playoffs, if anybody should have had an idea that it was possible, it was Kadri. I don't know why Calgary leaks would be the fault of Toronto, and I don't know why Kadri would have to rush to move his family when there was months until the season started.

I liked Kadri, and was sad when he left, but he forced himself out, and the more he talks about it, the happier I am with the decision. He still seems to have no accountability for his own actions, and still seems to blame other people for the consequences.

 

[Canadian Finn]

He still seems to have no accountability for his own actions

Thread should be locked after the classic Dekes post.

The last sentence should be copy/pasted in every response Dekes makes about his little precious.