Nazem Kadri reflects on his time as a Leaf, admits to crossing the line too often
His time in Toronto didn't end on the best note, being suspended for basically the entire first round for the second year in a row, but he was still a fan favourite. He wasn't one to shy away from the media, the critics or the fans, in fact, he loved it.
Being a hometown kid, playing for the Leafs was a childhood dream for Kadri, even knowing just how volatile the fan base and market is. To which he said, "The pressure, the attention, the scrutiny � none of that scared me. I wanted it. I know it's not for everyone, but it's never bothered me."
Unfortunately for Kadri, after another suspension in the playoffs Dubas and company felt like it was the right time to move on from the hometown, homegrown talent. A hit that he regrets to this day. "I saw a cheap hit on one of our leaders, and that doesn't get to happen on a team I play for. I'll always stand up for our guys. But I crossed a line � again � and I let our guys down."
The Leafs had some holes to fill and were in a cap crunch, while Kadri's latest suspension was the perfect reason to move on from him. Kadri didn't want to leave Toronto, he did his best to plead his case about staying, even vetoing a trade to Calgary in the summer prior because he wanted to be a mentor and to help Matthews, Marner, Nylander and the rest of the young group the team had coming.
Kadri thoroughly enjoyed his time here and always understood just how bad the city and the fans wanted to win. Now in Colorado, Kadri is coming off of a career regular season and has enjoyed making it past the first round of the playoffs. His suspension troubles followed him to Denver though as he was suspended for 8 games for a hit in round 1 of last years playoffs.
It's a contract year for Kadri so he should be on his best behaviour these playoffs. Who knows where he will go at the end of the season, but a few years down the line, it wouldn't be surprising to see him pull a Spezza to end his career in Toronto.
| POLL | ||
MAI 5 | 414 ANSWERS Nazem Kadri reflects on his time as a Leaf, admits to crossing the line too often Do you think we'll ever see Nazem Kadri back in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey? | ||
| Yes | 107 | 25.8 % |
| No | 307 | 74.2 % |
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