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Jeff Marek thinks the Maple Leafs will make a pitch for Nazem Kadri this season
Calgary Flames center Nazem Kadri (91) prior to a face-off during the second period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden
Photo credit: ob DeChiara-Imagn Images
Ryan Pike
Dec 3, 2024, 10:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 2, 2024, 21:39 EST
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If there’s one thing seemingly every strong hockey team has, it’s depth up the middle. In the case of the Toronto Maple Leafs, they’re a team that has designs on making a push for a Stanley Cup… but they would probably prefer to have a bit more centre depth for a lengthy playoff run.
The chatter that simply refuses to die down is the linkage between Toronto and former Maple Leafs centre – and current Calgary Flame – Nazem Kadri. The initial seed for the conversation seems to have been a mention from Doug MacLean on Real Kyper and Bourne a couple weeks back, but we keep hearing about the possibility because, well, the fit makes sense.
On the debut edition of The Sheet with Jeff Marek on Monday, Marek raised the possibility of the Leafs making a play for Kadri’s services this season:
“You know, I have a hard time believing that somewhere down the road the Maple Leafs don’t make a pitch for or have a conversation about Nazem Kadri of the Calgary Flames. As the Calgary Flames, like it was a great start for the Calgary Flames, but I think we all know where the Flames are. I think we all know where the Maple Leafs want to be. And I think that they’re looking at the Florida Panthers and saying, if we’re going to get out of this division, we have to go through them and we need more toughness and more toughness down the middle. I really do wonder if there’s a conversation about Nazem Kadri and the Toronto Maple Leafs.”
It’s no secret that Brad Treliving likes Kadri quite a bit. Back when Treliving was Flames’ general manager, he unsuccessfully tried to trade for Kadri during the 2019 off-season – Kadri declined to waive his no-trade clause, as he wanted to remain with the Leafs – and then traded Sean Monahan (and a first-round pick) to Montreal during the 2022 off-season to facilitate signing Kadri in free agency. The idea that Treliving would continue to value Kadri highly makes a lot of sense.
Would the Flames want to move Kadri? Right now, the Flames are operating with the following centres: Kadri, Mikael Backlund, Connor Zary and Kevin Rooney. All due respect, but right now that’s a fairly veteran-heavy group and the team doesn’t have a ton of organizational depth up the middle… so it might not make sense to further stretch that depth via trade. Kadri is also part of the team’s six player leadership group and has been a key mentor for the club’s young forwards; with the Flames in a youth movement, they may prefer to retain Kadri as an on and off-ice mentor for their up-and-coming players.
Finally, there’s the math of it all. Kadri is in the third season of a seven year deal that carries a $7 million cap hit and includes a 13-team no-trade clause (via PuckPedia). According to PuckPedia, the Leafs are currently only cap compliant due to their use of long-term injury cap relief. It would be challenging, albeit not impossible, for the Leafs to fit Kadri into their cap scheme going forward.
Treliving departed the Flames in April 2023 and joined the Maple Leafs a month later, and Marek and producer Zack Phillips discussed the alleged existence of the “Treliving tax”: the premise that Flames would have a higher price tag involved in trading an asset to Toronto than elsewhere because of hard feelings related to Treliving’s departure.
“I don’t know if the alleged Treliving tax would necessarily still exist if it’ll help Craig Conroy get to where he wants with the Flames and get him some renewed flexibility and assets in the process,” said Marek.
In 25 games with the Flames this season, Kadri has eight goals and 15 points – and a team-worst minus-12 plus/minus.
We’ll send how things unfold and what ends up happening.

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