Free agency opened yesterday and the Leafs were anything but busy, as they signed just one player that is expected to stay in the NHL.
Michael Pezzetta
Many people aren’t thrilled by this signing, but with a two year contract that carries a caphit of $812,500, there’s literally no risk involved here at all. The lone bit of scrutiny that can hold water is that Pezzetta will take up a roster spot that could be reserved for somebody that can add offense.
In response I’ll say that it’s long been the Maple Leafs’ way to reserve a spot for a player that doesn’t produce offense, but is simply there to play a physical, enforcement type of game. Ryan Reaves, Wayne Simmonds and Matt Martin have all filled that role in recent years, now it’s simply Pezzetta’s turn. However, the difference between Pezzetta and the other three is that he’s a better skater and forechecker. He’s faster and while he isn’t nearly as good of a fighter as they are/were, he’s still willing to step in against heavy weight’s around the NHL if need be.
I guess, at the end of the day, if you insist on having one of these players on your roster, as the Leafs appear to, then I’d rather have a guy that can keep up to the pace of the game a little better than Reaves.
With that said, if I’m being completely honest, I’d still be on the phone with the Seattle Kraken to talk about the 6’7″ 250lb Jamie Oleksiak. The Kraken just signed Ryan Lindgren and have returnees Vince Dunn and Ryker Evans on their left side, while they also have right shot’s Brandon Montour and Adam Larsson to play the other side. I do wonder if Oleksiak’s role there will slip even further than it did last season and if he’d welcome a change of scenery. The aim for me has always been to have a player that can stand up to the toughest in the league, while also playing a true role on the team and Oleksiak would accomplish that.
The Remaining Free Agents
After hearing Brad Treliving speak yesterday it’s clear that the teams focus now is on adding another top 6 forward to the group. Outside of Nikolaj Ehlers there really aren’t any of those left on the free agent market, which prompted Treliving to point out the obvious and that’s that the team will look to the trade market to fill that need. Until that trade is made I’m going to assume that any free agents they sign are destined for the Marlies.
Even if I were to suggest that they could fill another role via the free agent market, I honestly can’t tell you which player I’d target. This years free agent crop was unbelievably thin and there are simply no players left out there that would interest me at all.
Nazem Kadri
According to Elliotte Friedman there’s a desire from both sides to bring Kadri back to Toronto. If this trade were to happen, it would bring positives and negatives along with it. Let’s start with the negatives, because that will allow us to end on a positive note.
The most obvious detriment to bringing Kadri back to Toronto is that, like John Tavares, he’ll be 35 years old by the time the puck drops on next season. Unlike Tavares, Naz isn’t on a team friendly deal. With 4 years left at $7M per season, it has to be asked how long Naz will be worth his current paycheque.
The same thing that is a positive can be viewed as an area of concern and that’s that he was 2nd in TOI/GP among Flames forwards last season, which wouldn’t happen in Toronto. He’d be their 3rd best centre, behind Matthews and Tavares, while being arguably their 5th best forward behind those two, Matthew Knies and William Nylander. What you’d be faced with is a player that would be shuffled down the depth chart, while still carrying a caphit that demands he produce like a player that gets top minutes on his team.
On top of that, there are still things that reflect the same old Naz that we knew from his time in Toronto. He lead the Flames in faceoffs taken last season, with 1,464 to his name, but won just 46.2% of those draws. He also started 61.4% of his shifts in the offensive zone, which would have placed him 1st on the Leafs this season, with only Morgan Rielly (59.5%) and Nicholas Robertson (59.2%) coming close to that number. That shows the continued lack of trust in him to play in the defensive zone.
All of that begs the simple question, where does he fit in this current lineup? Do they intend to play him ahead of John Tavares? A 2nd line of Maccelli, Kadri and Nylander, for example, doesn’t look bad on paper, until you look at the 3rd line and realize you have a better, more productive centre playing right there. Not just that, but one that has been playing and producing with Nylander for years now. Or do they intend to assemble a 3rd line that is less about defense and checking and more about scoring? One possibility could be to move Roy to the right and roll out a line of Domi, Kadri and Roy. Or would they look to move Tavares to the wing and play a line of Tavares, Kadri and Nylander together? The possibilities are there, but each one presents it’s own issues and appears to be forcing him into the lineup, instead of it being a seamless fit.
Lastly, what would the cost to acquire be? I have seen some people suggest trading Brandon Carlo for Kadri and I have to admit, I wouldn’t be thrilled with that deal. Carlo has fit in well here, is signed for two more seasons at a very reasonable caphit and is built for playoff hockey. Also, while it’s not as drastic of an issue, it would still represent trading a young asset for an older one. Kadri has 4 years left on his contract and it’s possible that they’ll be the last 4 years of his NHL career. Carlo is just 28, which means he could reasonably have 10 years ahead of him in this league. Also, would salary retention be an option? If not for the Calgary Flames, then for another team that is looking to reach the cap floor for a few years? If so, what would the extra cost for that be? Simply put, it appears that the cost to acquire, at a glance, could be very high and I’m not sure that the Leafs would have the assets to make it happen.
On to the positives.
Nazem Kadri holds a full NMC until this time next year, before it turns into a 13 team no trade list. If the Flames want to move him, he could pull the same trick that Mitch Marner did with Vegas and say it’s Toronto or nowhere. In that case the cost to acquire drops considerably. With a deep draft coming up, a generational talent being at the top of that draft and Rasmus Andersson having already asked for a trade out of town, maybe the Flames are simply looking to tear things down as far as they can to take a run at landing Gavin McKenna? If that’s where they want to go, then removing a player that scored 35 times last year is a good move, no matter what they get in return. With all of that in mind, it would come as no surprise to find out that the Flames could be willing to take on an undesirable contract, such as the one possessed by David Kampf, in order to facilitate a deal. You could go further and consider Calle Jarnkrok a positive asset in that trade as well, due to only being owed a league minimum salary this year, even though he carries a $2.1M caphit. If he has a good season it shouldn’t surprise anybody to see the Flames flip him at the deadline for a mid round pick. While it would obviously take more than a couple of cap dumps to trade for Naz, it’s a positive from the Leafs side if Calgary is willing to take those players in the deal. In that scenario it’s unlikely that Kadri would require any salary retention.
At this moment in time Naz is certainly fulfilling what’s required of him at the cost of $7M per year. As I stated above, he was 2nd in TOI/GP among Flames forwards last season, behind only Jonathan Huberdeau and he lead the team in goals (35) and points (67). He also hasn’t missed a game in the three years he’s been in Calgary and has produced 88 goals and 198pts in those 246 games. At 34 years old it’s obvious that he can still produce offense.
On top of that, he brings the required bite that the Leafs have been missing in their top 6. While he has never been a player that would rack up a mountain of hits, he has often provided some heavy checks, while also being more than willing to push back against players that get running around. Completely random players that fit that bill would be Sam Bennett, Matt Tkachuk and Brad Marchand, but there are many more.
The Leafs have long been without any depth scoring and while I like the idea of having a 3rd line that can play reliably defensively against the other teams best, having a line that can drive the puck up ice and put it in the net is certainly an option as well. No matter who plays centre on that 3rd line is irrelevant, what matters is that with Kadri the Leafs would have three centres that are capable of producing 60+ points a season and that’s solid depth.
Lastly, we’ll skip back to the first sentence in this section, which is about the desire for a reunion from both sides. You have to have players that want to be here, or else they’re not going to play with the passion you need in order to win. Kadri, by all accounts, wants to return to where it all began and that’s a very positive thing. As we all remember, he didn’t want to leave in the first place but he only had partial trade protection, so Kyle Dubas kept trying until he made one of the worst deals in decades and sent Kadri to Colorado. After the deal Naz was asked about the rumoured trades that he nixed before that and stated “I was going to decline to waive to any team I could, I just wanted to stay in Toronto.” Okay, I can’t remember the exact quote and am too lazy to go find it, but you get the picture.
After going through the last couple of years with a player like Marner in the fold, that obviously didn’t want to stay, while I also question the loyalty of Auston Matthews and William Nylander, knowing there are players in a Leafs jersey like Naz, that truly want to be here, would be a breath of fresh air.