According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t opposed to trading Nazem Kadri. In order to trade him, they’d have to find a deal that makes sense. Here are five teams who could help the Leafs out.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the midst of a salary cap crunch. After a disappointing first-round exit against the Boston Bruins, general manager Kyle Dubas implied just about anyone could be traded. According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Leafs have been quietly checking the value of center Nazem Kadri around the league.
With the latest rumors surrounding Nikita Zaitsev and Patrick Marleau, Toronto might not need to trade him in order to clear the needed cap space to re-sign Mitch Marner and their other free agents. However, Kadri could help them get a top-four right-handed defenseman to replace Zaitsev.
For the second straight year, he cost the Leafs in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Bruins knew Kadri would react, so they poked the bear until he fought back. That has to be frustrating for the Leafs, who know as well as anyone how great, and yet how frustrating, the center can be.
Even with his discipline troubles, Toronto should have no issues trading Kadri. He has one of the best bargain deals in the league, as he has a $4.5 million cap hit over the next three seasons. For a second-line center, that’s incredibly cheap. While Kadri’s the Leafs third-line center, he’d be the second-line center on most teams.
However, he does have a 10-team no-trade list, which could lessen his value. It would be surprising if the Maple Leafs traded Kadri. The whole reason they signed John Tavares was so they could have impressive center depth. Why get rid of that depth?
That said, if the Leafs want to upgrade their defense, free agency probably isn’t the way to do it. Ergo, they’ve got to do it through a trade. And Kadri might be their best reasonable trade chip. Here’s a look at five teams who should trade for Kadri.