Line Combos: Nylander > Kadri at Center

[Anthrax442]

Nylander is playing so much better than Kadri at C. Kadri would be much better as a rower winger, because whatever he is doing at C isn't working.

PS. Better than Kadri on the 1st PP too.

Click to read more...

 

[NHL WAR]

I would be down with Kadri-Nylander-Brown. Nylander's playmaking suits center better than winger.

 

[Orfieus]

It really doesn't matter at all, in fact the only time it does matter is the faceoff and since Kadri is a lefty and Nylander is a righty is expect them to switch depending who is on the strong side

 

[zeke]

well, Willy is awesome, and an elite talent, whereas Kadri is just very good. so this is no surprise.

what's more interesting to me is that both Kappy and Johnsson may have caught up to Kadri in overall performance, meaning that Kadri may no longer be one of our top-6 forwards.

 

[Pookie]

Good problem to have.

Long term, Kadri is on a downward trend. Nylander is on the upside. And we have cap issues.

Not sure both are on the roster next season.

 

[Albi34]

Yeah I'm struggling to answer this myself whether the leafs benefit keeping him at 3 center, or top 6 wing. He's better than kadri, but is there more to gain pairing him with matthews to elevate both their games? Not sure. He makes the third line exciting.

 

[Brock Radunske]

I like Kadri a lot but I'd like them to trade him in the summer for a good rhd dman.
Nylander is killing it at centre and I'd like to make room for our winger depth (Kap/AJ/Moore/Bracco/Ennis)

 

[IrishInOntario]

Said it in another thread... I think Kadri's game would fit perfectly on Matthew's wing, and give Toronto a dynamic top 6, and a 3rd line that still has punch. At the same time, I thi k the answer to Toronto's issue at 4C is actually on the roster already and would give Toronto the obvious top 1-4 C group in the league.

Kadri / Matthews / Kapanen
Hyman / Tavares / Marner
Johnsson / Nylander / Brown
Ennis / Marleau / Moore
Gauthier
Petan

I'd love to see that group over the last 15 or so games heading into the playoffs.

 

[SHANNYPLAN]

Kadri - Matthews - Kapanen
Hyman - Tavares - Marner
Marleau - Nylander - Johnsson

 

[Guy Boucher]

Kadri can't really play wing. He's much better as a centre. So I don't really see a change when he gets back, but the fact that Nylander works out at C might mean a swap in the offseason (maybe Kadri for Spurgeon).

 

[zeke]

the key is we don't want Willy permanently lashed to the 3rd line longterm.

and while Kadri's contract is great value, we still may not want to be paying $4.5m to a guy stuck on our 3rd line permanently, especially when there's 6 other forwards getting paid real money.

but, if we ever do trade Kadri, we will need to find ourselves another good option that can play 3rd line C well in a pinch at least.

 

[Anthrax442]

Kadri - Matthews - Kapanen
Hyman - Tavares - Marner
Marleau - Nylander - Johnsson

I like this

 

[SHANNYPLAN]

I like this

I think it’s well balanced, and gives the top line more grit

 

[Walshy7]

Kadri at c >>> kadri at w
Nylander at c > nylander at w
Kadri at c = nylander at c (in different ways to each other)

So best for the team is kadri back to c nylander back to the wing. But I’d look to move kadri in the summer if nylander keeps impressing at c. He can get us a top4 d imo

 

[ottomaddox]

I suppose this is the end for Kadri.

He will be used to pursue a defenseman in the offseason. Good soldier, but...


...good...bye...Naz.

 

[Trapper]

the key is we don't want Willy permanently lashed to the 3rd line longterm.

and while Kadri's contract is great value, we still may not want to be paying $4.5m to a guy stuck on our 3rd line permanently, especially when there's 6 other forwards getting paid real money.

but, if we ever do trade Kadri, we will need to find ourselves another good option that can play 3rd line C well in a pinch at least.

I have no problem with Willy at permanent C.
You could get a 3rd line C and that line does nothing in particular in terms of offense.
Or you could roll 3 strong with pairs.
Matthews/Johnsson (15/16 mil?)
Tavares/Marner (20/21 mil?)
Nylander/Kapanen (10/11 mil)
3 mil 4th

That’s a centers core that not many can match. We move from 4.5 Kadri to 6.9 Nylander and finish with Marleau who is taking up 6.25 there anyway.

The Tavares/Marner line will be the cost.
The Nylander/Kapanen line is going to come in cheaper than both top 2.

Trevor Moore types/Marlies surround.

Special teams can mix and match.

 

[Buds17]

I think Nylander is superior to Kadri overall (and possibly as a centre as well). However, even with an annually increasing cap, Nylander at 3C with his cap hit doesn't make the most sense to me. Especially so because he'd be locked in there since I don't see him passing Matthews or Tavares.

I prefer Nylander as the best option there right now due to Kadri's injury, and the third line placement in general (C or W) allows him to get his game back after the long layoff.

I wouldn't say the two players are in any direct competition with each other.

 

[Anthrax442]

I suppose this is the end for Kadri.

He will be used to pursue a defenseman in the offseason. Good soldier, but...


...good...bye...Naz.

Naz can be packaged with Zaitsev

 

[kindalaidback]

I don't think I'm watching the same games.

Kadri has been good and has had fantastic games at center before his concussion. The only thing that is killing him is his low S%. And the post. He is also an awful winger.

I kinda have trouble understanding why you guys would want your 7 million dollar player (yes, it matters) being wasted on the third line when he should be playing alongside Matthews (also, I never like to judge a player based on a small sample size, so I would not move Willie to center just because he has played 4 games down the middle).
He can play wing as well as center, so there aren't any issues with that. It's good to know that he can fill in in case of injury, though, but ultimately, he should be in the top 6.

re: pp

I don't think Naz is better or worse on the pp than WN. What's happening is that the Leafs haven't found a way to use him effectively enough.

I think Kadri will be here until 2023, and then the Leafs will reevaluate if they want to re-sign him or not (TDL).

 

[Willchel Marlynder]

I think Nylander is superior to Kadri overall (and possibly as a centre as well). However, even with an annually increasing cap, Nylander at 3C with his cap hit doesn't make the most sense to me. Especially so because he'd be locked in there since I don't see him passing Matthews or Tavares. I prefer him as the best option there right now due to Kadri's injury, and the third line placement in general (C or W) allows him to get his game back after the long layoff.

This is a very good point. While Nylander is killing it at Center, you just can't pay that much to a third liner. It's good to know that if a C goes down Nylander can step in and perform. But he needs to get in the top 6 eventually.

 

[MapleLeafs77]

I still want willy playing more than most of our forwards. He should be 4th in ice time for forwards honestly. Im not sure he can get that playing on the 3rd line. Just like kadri this year.

Johnsson Matthews Nylander
Hyman Tavares Marner
Marleau Kadri Kapanen
Moore Gauthier Ennis/Petan

 

[Buds17]

This is a very good point. While Nylander is killing it at Center, you just can't pay that much to a third liner. It's good to know that if a C goes down Nylander can step in and perform. But he needs to get in the top 6 eventually.

Nylander to C made the most sense considering all of the available options, and the fact that he was playing wing on that line anyway. Kadri's cap hit seems fine enough for a 3C, but I don't think that was absolutely the intention when he was re-signed.

Nylander was re-signed primarily based on what he accomplished with Matthews. There thankfully doesn't appear to be a need to rush things, but I'd guess he finds his way back there eventually.

 

[hamzarocks]

Naz can be packaged with Zaitsev

Problem is that zaitsev doesn't have much value and attaching kadri to him reduces any chance of a top 4 rhd (pesce, hamilton type) coming back. If we want to purely save cap than it will be hard as well as the team trading for the 2 is taking on 9 million dollars. I would say at the draft deal kadri. I would look at the oilers evven though seeing kadri in their jersey would be tough. Kadri for oilers 1st+oilers 2nd+Tyler Benson is a nice deal. Otherwise we can target a defender in a Kadri deal, where we save no cap but see immediate improvements to the team. I would do something like Kadri for Colin Miller+ Vegas 1st + Vegas 2nd

 

[Clark4Ever]

If Nylander can keep it up, we need to consider moving Kadri in the off season for that sorely need top 4 RHD.

 

[1specter]

Kadri has been fine, he hasn't had shooting luck this year. He's also quite good defensively. Also Nylander would be better utilized playing in the top six, most good teams load their players (and before anyone says Kessel, he's been playing with Malkin mostly since 2017...) and Nylander would also get more minutes playing up top.