The sky isn't falling but....(Kadri)

LeafGrief

Shambles in my brain
Apr 10, 2015
7,616
9,532
Ottawa
I thought he played very well last night. He controlled the puck and the play when he was on the ice and had that outstanding chance on the doorstep, but just hasn't converted. He's got a 3.4% oiSH% right now, so he's bound to get some puck luck soon.

I'm not expecting 60 points from him, he's the 5th option on his PP unit this year, but he's certainly not worrying me at all. He's always been a hot/cold player and this is just a cold snap. He's getting his looks, he'll put some in soon.
 
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ottomaddox

Registered User
Oct 31, 2017
10,592
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Toronto
I am a little surprised at how little he's done so far. I know he's had some posts etc but I thought he would have been more productive thus far in the season.

I had given some thought to it that maybe his linemates were a problem but...he carried Komarov for 2 years. What do you guys think? Too early? A concern?

I held out on starting this topic for fear of being dog piled.

How did you do this without everyone on the board taking a run at you?

Jealous (obviously).

____________

It is hard to figure out. I am pretty disappointed though. We can talk about his point production, but what about his "edge"? He doesn't seem to be agitating anyone, and he's not drawing penalties with his skill.

Perhaps he knows something.

A trade?
 

Gary Nylund

Registered User
Oct 10, 2013
29,787
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I held out on starting this topic for fear of being dog piled.

How did you do this without everyone on the board taking a run at you?

Jealous (obviously).

____________

It is hard to figure out. I am pretty disappointed though. We can talk about his point production, but what about his "edge"? He doesn't seem to be agitating anyone, and he's not drawing penalties with his skill.

Perhaps he knows something.

A trade?

Easy - start less threads and make them on relevant topics instead of starting a thread every time you have a random thought.

Kadri's playing well, not worried about him at all. Getting Nylander back should help a ton too. I wonder though - Kadri did so well in his matchup role last year, why fix what ain't broke? He relished going up against Crosby, McDavid and so on, not sure why Babcock changed the formula. Perhaps he'll go back to it at some point?

Either way, like I said, not worried about Kadri at all. People are too hung up on box scores but ... he's playing well.
 
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TootooTrain

Sandpaper
Jun 12, 2010
35,505
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He's played pretty damn good so far this year. He's getting his chances, they're just not going in.

Im not concermed at all.

Ditto. Hes playing decently well. Its early in the season. Hell, Stamkos didnt score his 1st until last night.
 
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TakeTheBody

Registered User
Jan 10, 2018
2,106
1,486
I'll defend Naz. I was at the Wings game, great seats. You can see the frustration. He needs to score a few goals and he will be fine. I'm not sure he knows his role yet. Things will settle down. Didn't he have quite a goaless streak last year and still score 30? Naz is the least of the Leafs worries.
 

kk87

Registered User
Feb 12, 2015
5,334
2,114
Waterloo, ON
I don’t get why Johnsson-Kadri hasn’t been tried for a couple games. Obviously not a guaranteed fix but give those guys a few games together to try to find the chemistry they had briefly last year, and it could wake both of them up. Two birds with one stone
 
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Tak7

Registered User
Nov 1, 2009
12,623
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GTA or the UK
Kadri has been all over the ice, he will start to get the bounces.

I agree with this - I'd be more concerned if the player was largely anonymous (Marleau...), but Kadri has been in and around the net quite a bit the last few games.

Feels like once he gets one, a few will start going in for him. Don't think it's time to worry just yet
 
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Mess

Global Moderator
Feb 27, 2002
86,912
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Leafs Home Board
I am a little surprised at how little he's done so far. I know he's had some posts etc but I thought he would have been more productive thus far in the season.

I had given some thought to it that maybe his linemates were a problem but...he carried Komarov for 2 years. What do you guys think? Too early? A concern?

The difference is #2C vs demoted to 3rd line duty and if he didn't play on the #1PP unit his stats would suffer even more.

If some had expectations that Kadri would remain a 30 goal man despite being demoted out of the top 6 that's on them. IMO

Lower you are on the depth chart the lower your stats will become as TOI/g also likely to drop.

Its not Kadri's fault personally by being replaced by JT in the top 6, more a victim of his new environment.
 
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Fogelhund

Registered User
Sep 15, 2007
21,055
23,162
He struggled last year as well, up until they put him and Marner together. Marner and Kadri were magic together last year, and now Marner is with Tavares, and Kadri gets Connor Brown. Marner is a play driver, while Brown is more complimentary... plus, losing Marleau can't help either.

I have no worries about Kadri, but it sometimes takes time to develop chemistry, and in any case, his linemates are downgrades from last years. He never was likely to score as much as he has in the past.
 

thewave

Registered User
Jun 17, 2011
39,884
9,723
Kadri is not Matthews, JT, MM or WN. These players have extreme H IQ. You put two completely brain dead players in Brown or Lindy with MM and suddenly you see something, because Mitch has to think for them and adjusts himself to increase their productivity.

Kadri will never look good with low IQ speedy dum dum defensively minded plugs. Never ever.
 

Leafsfan74

Registered User
Jul 2, 2018
4,781
4,914
As long as the Leafs are winning and he focuses on his assignments, it's fine.

In fact, in many ways I'm more impressed with his play this year as he's not taking stupid penalties and appears to have matured. In my lifetime, teams with strong two way forwards always seem to become Cup winners. There is nothing any player in Toronto can do, short of scoring 100 goals that will replace their legacy if they bring the Cup to Toronto.

A player doesn't just forget how to score, he will get his goals with slightly less ice time due to Tavares and an improved team. He will be crucial this year, especially in the playoff where depth can sink other teams. As much as he might not be personally happy, if he scored 15-20 goals and Leafs go deep in the playoffs it's far better than if he scored 35 and they got knocked out in the first round. You can be sure Babcock appreciates players like Kadri when he plays the way he can play.

Kadri if you ever read these forums, don't worry about a cold stretch. I've not always been your #1 fan but I'm seeing a boy become a man. Don't lose sight of what success really means...a Cup.
 
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TheTotalPackage

Registered User
Sep 14, 2006
7,303
5,450
With Tavares now the man behind Matthews, Kadri's role has shifted in which he doesn't need to be counted on to score 30+. Let him get the top defensive assignments all the while chipping in 20+ goals and 50 points. That's phenomenal for a "3rd" line centre, and the Leafs get all that for a mere $4.5 million.

I think he's been really good thus far.
 
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JT AM da real deal

Registered User
Oct 4, 2018
12,056
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Kadri was our best centre last night. He had puck. Created chances. and looked quick. Once he gets a Nylander type he will be fine. Right now he is missing some skill with him to finish.
 

Goonface2k14

Registered User
Nov 25, 2009
2,649
1,011
Maple Leaf Gardens
Kadri is a great finisher when he has linemates who can create time and space for him.

That's why he did well so with Lupul when he first established himself as a goal scorer, and that's why he did so well with Marner last year, and why he didn't do quite as well at other times.

Going forward, IMO, he would probably be better served with a linemate like Kapanen than Marleau. Marleau seems to be more of a support guy at this point in his career, able to get to smart areas to keep plays moving, but not someone who's going to make dynamic plays and put defenders in bad spots. He just doesn't have that type of strength and agility anymore. I think Kapanen's speed and agility with the puck would do that for Kadri, and open things up a bit more for him to get to the dirty areas and finish on offensive rushes.

So, as fun as it's been to see Kapanen with Matthews so far this season (other than maybe last night), when Nylander comes back I'd like to see Kapanen moved to Kadri's line and have Nylander get back together with Matthews.
 

CelticDruid

Registered User
Oct 23, 2013
6,932
5,799
Penticton , BC
Kadri was our best centre last night. He had puck. Created chances. and looked quick. Once he gets a Nylander type he will be fine. Right now he is missing some skill with him to finish.

Kadri, gave the puck away numerous times last night-throwing the puck down the middle with no one around. He looks lost and needs to be crashing the net to be more effective.
 

ottomaddox

Registered User
Oct 31, 2017
10,592
4,600
Toronto
Easy - start less threads and make them on relevant topics instead of starting a thread every time you have a random thought.

Kadri's playing well, not worried about him at all. Getting Nylander back should help a ton too. I wonder though - Kadri did so well in his matchup role last year, why fix what ain't broke? He relished going up against Crosby, McDavid and so on, not sure why Babcock changed the formula. Perhaps he'll go back to it at some point?

Either way, like I said, not worried about Kadri at all. People are too hung up on box scores but ... he's playing well.

It should be written in the hf rules:

"Less threads good. More threads bad."

I wonder if the people who advertise here appreciate the "less threads"/no hockey discussion at all policy.
 
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Gary Nylund

Registered User
Oct 10, 2013
29,787
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It should be written in the hf rules:

"Less threads good. More threads bad."

I wonder if the people who advertise here appreciate the "less threads"/no hockey discussion at all policy.

The front page is always full of threads. Cool idea about the rules.
 

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