I've probably watched more of Nazem Kadri than most here since he played his junior hockey in Kitchener and in London. I also watched him cut his teeth with the Leafs since living where I do you get every Leaf game on TV. So I am reasonably confident in my opinion of this guy.
People don't fear Kadri. That's flat out nonsense. Kadri is a dirty player for sure but this is not the 80's. NHL player's don't change their game because of it.
Kadri struggled early in the NHL and was often in the dog house because he was very undisciplined. I will give him credit that he did work to add more to his game but the sense that some have concerning Kadri's defensive game is more of a myth. Much of that stems from a couple of games where he had some success vs McDavid in 2018/2019 which was probably his best statistical year defensively. But he was playing on Toronto's third line with Marleau and Kapanen, two guys who are both very good defensively. He also had teh difficulty of his assignments reduced a fair bit as he played mostly vs bottom 6 opposition. Prior to the that season, going back to 2015-2016 he did often play on the Leaf's "shutdown" line. But he always had guys like Marleau, Grabner and Komorov to help carry the load. Typically though his line got scored on a fair bit and generally more than they scored.
Two things you can answer for me... Your previous post was about Nuge making mistakes when the game is on the line. How is it that you are ignoring that one of the biggest complaints against Kadri is his propensity to do stupid things that costs his team at the worst possible times? Secondly, if he is so effective defensively why is it that none of his coaches have ever seen fit to have him pk. I mean it would seem natural to have the center of your shutdown line pk'ing if he was really the guy driving the bus in that role don't you think. Yet in three years in that role he played a total of 10 minutes on the pk while his usual line mates combined for about 800 minutes on the pk.
Kadri is a skilled hockey player. I'd be happy to have him. But he is also a pretty selfish hockey player both in terms of how he interacts with his teammates on the ice and his lack of discipline at key times. When Kadri has the puck it is his. He does not like to share. In that regard he is almost 180 degrees opposite form Nuge.
Reasonable post. Kadri is a jerk and certainly not a 1st line center but if it's a choice between Kadri and RNH as either 2nd or third-line center I'd pick Kadri. If Kadri was to move to the second line wing I'd probably select RNH as a second line winger over Kadri.
You make a good point which is RNH is a playmaker and Kadri is more dogged when taking the puck to the net. Generally I would agree that the playmaker should be the pivot and the guy who takes the puck to the net should be the winger (I'd use Evander Kane as an example of a player who takes the puck to the net making him an excellent winger) but in this sample case I still prefer Kadri as the center. And again, Kadri should not be a teams top center.
RNH is a good positional player which is key for a center but there is a physical aspect to coverage at center and I don't believe RNH is the best option at third line center because of this. This does lead to breakdowns late in games when teams pressure to keep zone time alive. Less physical players tend to get eaten up. The third period push has always been an aspect of Sutter hockey.
RNH should be Draisaitl's permanent winger. Working the give and go between Draisaitl and Nuge could be an awe inspiring facet for Edmonton Oilers hockey. RNH is great at that bump pass and forwarding the puck. Play the player to his strengths. I guess we differ in what we see as the player's strengths.
I can't remember the cap concerns from the time period when Kadri got moved out of Toronto but I think the fan base was fed up with him getting suspended in the playoffs. Other than that he was a good player for the Leafs.
There have been times when I hated Kadri because of his physical plays but that generally tells me I would appreciate that player more if he was playing for my club.
Come on. Players “fear lining up against” Nazem Kadri?
They fear getting smashed into the boards and getting injured. This is a reasonable fear. I can picture Yamamoto getting smashed into the boards by Kadri. It is understandable Yamamoto would try to avoid this.
I prefer to look at tangibles. Like the way they play.
Make a poll on the poll board where the combined intellectual power of HF boards can make a democratic decision.
In the cap era, when you get a $7M contract, you have to put up points to earn that salary. I don't care how hard nosed a guy is, or how good away from the puck he is (Nuge is better away from the puck anyway).
Make it a double question poll. Question #1, which player do you prefer at the center position & question #2, which player would you prefer when taking into accounts their respective contracts.
I think Kadri would win question #1 and RNH would win question #2.
