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The Toronto Maple Leafs have a need at center and they could go back to a familiar face.
NHL analyst James Tanner of FanSided believes Toronto should look to re-acquire Nazem Kadri from the Calgary Flames. Kadri would fill in the third-line center role and brings championship experience to the lineup.
“The Leafs need a third-line center. In their last game, they used David Kamp. The game before that, they used Pontus Holmberg,” Tanner wrote. “They only have 2 x top-nine centers on the roster, and so they are incredibly thin at one of the most important positions for playoff success. The Flames have Nazem Kadri, won’t be a contender for years, and could likely be persuaded to eat enough money to make this deal possible.”
Kadri would become a massive upgrade at third-line center and can add some scoring to the bottom of the lineup which has been an issue for the Maple Leafs.
“Bottom line is this: Kadri is exactly what the Leafs need, and he is likely to be cheap enough that they could still use their best trade chip to acquire the player they need the most,” Tanner added.
Kadri has skated in 18 games recording 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points with the Flames this season.
Analyst Says Maple Leafs Have Assets to Acquire Kadri
Kadri is still a valuable player so the cost to acquire him won’t be cheap.
However, the forward is in the third year of his seven-year $49 million deal. If Toronto eats the entire cap space, the return won’t be as much. But, even if money is retained, Tanner believes the Maple Leafs have enough assets to make a deal happen.
“Kadri is still a solid player, and the hope would be that his bad numbers and low point totals from this season are just from playing on a bad team,” Tanner wrote. “Regardless, he’d be a massive upgrade on what the Leafs are currently using. The cost would be free if the Leafs agreed to take his full contract – seven million cap-hit with four years to go – but they aren’t going to do that.
“For a nominal fee – a couple of low picks similar to what the Leafs got for Liljegren – the Leafs should be able to convince the Flames to pay some of Kadri’s contract for the next four years while they rebuild,” Tanner added.
Kadri played for the Maple Leafs from 2009 until 2019. He was selected seventh overall in the 2009 NHL draft by Toronto.
Kadri Open to Staying in Calgary
Although the Flames aren’t a playoff contender, Kadri is fine playing on the rebuilding team.
The veteran forward won the Stanley Cup in 2022 with the Colorado Avalanche. So, when asked about his name being involved in trade rumors, Kadri shot it down.
“I feel like it’s super early to be asking these kinds of questions, so I’m gonna ask you guys to pump the brakes a little bit,” Kadri said. “Let us go play, and we’re going to try to rally around each other and surprise some people… I love the city. I love the organization.”
Kadri signed with the Flames in the summer of 2022.
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Analyst Urges Maple Leafs to Re-Acquire Fan-Favorite in Trade