Would Nazem Kadri have made a difference against Boston in last years playoff series?

[LeafsNation75]

Forgive me for brining up Nazem Kadri but I feel it's appropriate since I have seen many comments about him saying the Leafs would be better if Kyle Dubas never traded him for Tyson Barrie.

Anyway this is what I'm wondering. I have seen comments on here saying if Kadri wasn't suspended last year most likely the Leafs win that series. However if we go back to the 2018 playoffs against Boston let's remember Kadri was suspended after Game 1 and missed Games 2, 3, & 4. By that time Toronto was down 3-1 in the series and Kadri returned for Game 5 that they won and they won Game 6, which forced a Game 7 and we know they lost with him in the lineup.

So knowing all of that why would last year have been any different if Kadri was never suspended for a second year in a row during the playoffs? In both 2018 and 2019 Toronto was in position to eliminate Boston and failed both years. The only difference is 2018 was in a Game 7 with Kadri in the lineup, where as in 2019 they were up 3-2 and still lost with him out of the lineup and despite having two chances to eliminate the Bruins.

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[Mats13]

Yes.

If he wasn’t suspended in both years, I truly believe we win both of those series against the Bruins.

 

[toasterart]

no, Leafs will find ways to lose... no matter who the players, coach and gm are. It's like a curse. maybe it is a curse.

I'm not in a good mood today.

 

[ShameOnYouZidlicky]

Definitely for 2019. He had a great game 1 (great assist on Nylanders goal) and was the best leaf on the ice during game 2. What he did was a shame because he had the ability to bring an aspect to the game that most of is teammates were, and continue to be, incapable of.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Yes.

If he wasn’t suspended in both years, I truly believe we win both of those series against the Bruins.

Except you might not seen how I mentioned in 2018 after going down 3-1 in that series Kadri returned for Game 5 which they won and they also won Game 6 with him. However in the end they still lost Game 7 despite him being back in the lineup.

 

[Chief keefe]

no, Leafs will find ways to lose... no matter who the players, coach and gm are. It's like a curse. maybe it is a curse.

I'm not in a good mood today.

Honestly... something must be wrong with us..

 

[Superstar]

Who knows, the fool took himself out of both series.

 

[Mats13]

Except you might not seen how I mentioned in 2018 after going down 3-1 in that series Kadri returned for Game 5 which they won and they also won Game 6 with him. However in the end they still lost Game 7 despite him being back in the lineup.

I know what happened.

What I’m saying is, in that series we would’ve won one of the games we lost with Kadri out and the series wouldn’t go to seven.

 

[MattySnipes]

People don't understand that the Leafs had a 3-headed monster of Centremen in Matthews, JT, and Kadri.

This was the scheme and game plan by Babcock to use against the Bruins.

Naz getting suspended threw a wrench in that plan, and it made it more about himself than the team. Very hard to gameplan and adjust when a big piece like that goes down.

He tried to use Nylander as replacement but it failed.

FWIW, they took both series to 7 so I cant be too upset. It could have gone either way in the end. Boston players just found a way to get it done and their leaders paved the way.

 

[LeafsNation75]

I know what happened.

What I’m saying is, in that series we would’ve won one of the games we lost with Kadri out and the series wouldn’t go to seven.

Who knows but my point is in the end once Kadri returned and they came back from 3-1 down to force a Game 7, they still lost with him back in the lineup.

I will also say again last year after going up 3-2 for Game 6 in Toronto and leading 1-0 in the 1st period, they ended up losing and also lost Game 7. The only difference is Kadri was suspended for the remainder of that series however long it went if the Leafs had advanced.

 

[Gallagbi]

Does it matter anymore? Aren't we done with this?

 

[ShaneFalco]

Does it matter anymore? Aren't we done with this?

No we must revisit every move

 

[LeafsNation75]

People don't understand that the Leafs had a 3-headed monster of Centremen in Matthews, JT, and Kadri.

This was the scheme and game plan by Babcock to use against the Bruins.

Naz getting suspended threw a wrench in that plan, and it made it more about himself than the team. Very hard to gameplan and adjust when a big piece like that goes down.

He tried to use Nylander as replacement but it failed.

FWIW, they took both series to 7 so I cant be too upset. It could have gone either way in the end. Boston players just found a way to get it done and their leaders paved the way.

What about those who say Babcock got out coached especially in last years series. In Game 6 when Matthews scored in the 3rd period to make it a 3-2 Bruins lead we still saw Babcock line matching and didn't want to change the way he coached. Shouldn't he have been double shifting Matthews every chance he could because he was Toronto's best player in that whole series.

 

[Gallagbi]

No we must revisit every move

It all started when we traded our heart and soul captain for that chicken Swede Sedin or whatever his name was

 

[TmlHockeyFan]

We would've won at least one of those series if Kadri was in for all the games.

 

[LeafsNation75]

We would've won at least one of those series if Kadri was in for all the games.

Maybe this isn't fair to bring up the 2013 playoff series against the Bruins, however when looking it up Kadri did play all 7 games that year and we know how that series ended.

His stats was 1 goal and 3 assists, with his only goal coming in Game 7 being the 4th goal that put Toronto up 4-1.

 

[NiL8r87]

Kadri wasn't on the penalty kill.

 

[Tak7]

2 years ago? No. Boston were better.

Last year? Absolutely. The Leafs were the better team for large stretches of that series, and people forget - the team had 2 opportunities to close the series out. Kadri would have made a huge difference, especially in game 6 when that disastrous first period was going on

 

[nuck]

Yes over in 6 last year I think. In 17-18 hard to say as Freddie was a lot more porous.

 

[LeafsNation75]

2 years ago? No. Boston were better.

Last year? Absolutely. The Leafs were the better team for large stretches of that series, and people forget - the team had 2 opportunities to close the series out. Kadri would have made a huge difference, especially in game 6 when that disastrous first period was going on

So how come in 2018 with Toronto coming back from a 3-1 series deficit and Kadri returning for Game 5 that year, they didn't win that series with him back in the lineup? Let's also remember in Game 7 that year they were up 4-3 going into the 3rd period and lost 7-4.

 

[Tak7]

So how come in 2018 with Toronto coming back from a 3-1 series deficit and Kadri returning for Game 5 that year, they didn't win that series with him back in the lineup? Let's also remember in Game 7 that year they were up 4-3 going into the 3rd period and lost 7-4.

2 years ago? No. Boston were better.

 

[LeafsNation75]

It's not that Boston was better. I'm referring to how people say Toronto wins last year if Kadri was in the lineup. In 2018 despite being suspended for 3 games of that series we saw Kadri return and even with him they still lost that series and they did it by blowing a 4-3 lead going into the 3rd period of Game 7.

 

[Buds17]

I'd like to believe they would have won considering the series came down to the final game, though said game wasn't exactly close. The suspension did cause a ripple effect. Kadri is better than the forward (Ennis?) that entered the lineup in his place. Nylander could have very well found himself higher up in the lineup (on Matthews' wing) instead of being needed to centre the third line.

Take out that most recent suspension though and this was still a team with Matthews and Tavares ahead of Kadri on the depth chart. There was also a need at RD. Hypothetically, remove Tavares - since he joined the team after Matthews - from the team. It would then be tougher to trade away Kadri, even with the suspensions.

 

[Clammer]

It's not that Boston was better. I'm referring to how people say Toronto wins last year if Kadri was in the lineup. In 2018 despite being suspended for 3 games of that series we saw Kadri return and even with him they still lost that series and they did it by blowing a 4-3 lead going into the 3rd period of Game 7.

They were also down 3-1 in that series and won 2 out of 3. And last year we owned them the whole series, kadri cost us our advantage of having nylander as a top 6 instead, it made our 3rd line redundant. We would have won game 4 or 6 last year if we had kadri for sure. Games 7s are crapshoots

 

[Seath The Scaleless]

Last year? I will say no, because the PK operated at 50% and knowing Kadri, he would have taken a few minor penalties.