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Nazem Kadri gets tangled in Maple Leafs’ playoffs woes!

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This can’t be happening again, right Toronto Maple Leafs’ fans?! Last night, Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting received a match penalty for an illegal check to the head on Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak during the teams’ first game of their Round 1 series. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced after the game that Bunting will have a hearing on Wednesday afternoon for the incident.

Many reports emerged following the incident, which took place in the second period when Bunting appeared to hit the unsuspecting Cernak in the head in front of the Bolts’ net. Cernak, who did not have the puck, fell backwards to the ice and went to the dressing room. He did not return to the contest.

As it was expected, Bunting’s situation is now being compared to what happened to forward Nazem Kadri in the first round series of the 2019 playoffs against the Boston Bruins. Kadri was suspended for the remainder of the first round by the NHL’s department of player safety for delivering a dangerous cross-check to the head of Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk. The Maple Leafs were consequently eliminated from the postseason with Kadri looking on from the press box. Kadri was also suspended during the 2018 Leafs-Bruins series for a high hit on Tommy Wingels, for which he was banned three games.

The Athletic’s Joshua Kloke couldn’t help but bring Kadri back into the discussion as we await the league’s verdict on Bunting.

“It’s hard not to pick up some serious Nazem Kadri vibes from this whole sequence of events. The former Leafs forward was a long-time fan favourite for his physical, heart-on-his-sleeve approach, but was suspended in both the 2018 and 2019 playoffs for hits that even with the benefit of hindsight, look questionable.

“Both Kadri and Bunting are players who play on the edge: they can get under the skin of opponents but they’re also counted on to contribute offensively. Back-to-back 23-goal seasons for Bunting for a measly $950,000 cap hit is a tremendous value, but that comes with an inherent risk: Bunting led the NHL in penalties taken among NHL forwards this season.”

Bunting didn’t speak to the media after the game, but it’s a clear fact that he has struggled with discipline this season. It remains to be seen if Bunting will be suspended, which if yes, comes with loads of questions. How long? Who takes his spot? Can he be trusted after that?

But one question that will remain unanswered is why Bunting pulled that move on Cernak to put the Maple Leafs’ series in jeopardy?

Not sure even Kadri can answer that one…

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Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri could ask for trade if Darryl Sutter remains Flames’ coach!

NHL.com

While Flames general manager Brad Treliving’s future in Calgary remains unsure, seeing that he has yet to sign a contract extension as GM. It’s clear that Treliving deserves praise from what he managed to pull last summer after losing forward Johnny Gaudreau to the free agent market and Matthew Tkachuk declining a long-term contract extension to get traded to the Florida Panthers for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar. On top of that, Treliving signed Nazem Kadri.

“I think what’s going to happen in the coming days is that Treliving and the Flames’ front office need some time to take stock because that organization is numb right now, explained Pierre LeBrun on Insider Trading on TSN last night. “They can’t believe they didn’t make the playoffs. But Treliving, individually, has to decompress and look at the fact that he’s been there nine years and ask himself if there’s an offer from ownership, does he sign it? Does he move on? I think there’s a lot going through Treliving’s mind just like there’s a lot going through a lot of people’s minds in Calgary right now.”

However, the Flames were officially eliminated from playoff contention following Monday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators. It’s been noticed more than once that Huberdeau, Kadri and goalie Jacob Markstrom were among the notables who struggled under head coach Darryl Sutter, whose two-year contract extension kicks in next season. All of this prompted Sportsnet’s Eric Francis to wonder if Huberdeau or Kadri could demand to be traded if Sutter remains as the coach in an article that asks more questions than it answers them about what’s coming in Calgary.

To make things worse, Francis also speculates about players such as Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli, Mikael Backlund and Noah Hanifin as they could pull a Tkachuk and force trades by declining to sign contract extensions…

“How many of them will make it crystal clear they’re disinterested in staying in Calgary and be swapped out early, a la Matthew Tkachuk?”

As Francis concludes, whatever answers come in Calgary will definitely shape what the Flames’ roster will look like in 2023-24.

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Nazem Kadri gets dragged through the mud on live TV!

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It looks like Nazem Kadri doesn’t care if the Calgary Flames make the postseason or not. Not saying it’s a fact but he’s sure acting like it.

During the first period of the Flames’ game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night, Kadri nonchalantly turned the puck over to allow the Hawks to gain back the lead at the end of the first period.

During the intermission, Sportsnet’s Eric Francis called out Kadri and dragged him through the mud on live television, wondering if the veteran forward even cared about the playoff race. It was quickly discussed how his teammates are probably fed up with his lack of fight with just a few games to go.

The TV segment was over but the critics kept going on social media, pointing at Kadri’s mistakes and wondering why a young player like Jakob Pelletier is a scratch when he cares more about making the postseason then defending champion Kadri.

Recent chatter emerged that Kadri could want out of Calgary and his attitude does not speak to his commitment to the Flames.

The Flames ended up losing 4-3 at the hands of the Blackhawks and that goal that Kadri gave to Chicago feels even worse.
Tonight, the Flames face the Winnipeg Jets in a battle for the last spot of the postseason. The Jets are currently in the last wild-card spot of the West, two points over Calgary.

Kadri cannot afford to make another mistake like this tonight – or you know he will hear about it…

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Nazem Kadri on the move again?!

NHL / Presser

When the Flames signed forward Nazem Kadri as a free agent this past summer, they were expecting him to bring his career-high production from last season to Calgary. But Kadri has failed to replicate it and recent chatter has emerged that he could be traded out after the playoffs. So far in 2022-23, the veteran center has put up 51 points in 75 games, well below last season’s career-high 87 points with the Colorado Avalanche.

On top of that, there have been reports of a riff between he and head coach Darryl Sutter, which prompted Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman to point out Kadri had seen a recent reduction in his ice time.

While the veteran forward himself downplayed the chatter about this relationship with the bench boss, there remains doubts that he could be in the right place in Calgary…

One reader even asked The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek if the Flames would attempt to trade Kadri this summer.
Duhatschek is cautious in his answer but explains how expensive free agents happen to struggle with their new clubs in the first season of their new contracts.

“But the short answer on trading Kadri is “not yet.” And that’s mainly because what we’ve seen from Kadri this season is often typical of what you see from expensive free agents in their first year with new teams — they struggle to meet the expectations associated with the lucre of their new contracts (in Kadri’s case, a seven-year, $49 million deal). Often, in Year 2 after settling in, they show better results.”

But the main thing is that even if the Flames wanted to part ways with Kadri after just one season, his full no-movement clause would be a significant hurdle in the situation, along with the six years left on his contract at $7 million annually.

Got a feeling Kadri will stay put…

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