Toronto Maple Leafs: Comparing Past & Present Stars #2

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Darcy Tucker was a known pest around the NHL. He would anger the opposition while putting the puck in their net. Who does that for the Leafs now? Nazem Kadri.

Darcy Tucker was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs half-way through the 1999-00 season from the Tampa Bay Lightning alongside a fourth round pick in 2000 (Miguel Delisle) for Marek Posmyk, Mike Johnson, a fifth round pick (Pavel Sedov) and a sixth round pick (Aaron Gionet) both in 2000.

Nazem Kadri was drafted seventh overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Similarity #1: Aggravating but Efficient

Tucker was the type of player that you hated if he wasn’t on your team. From an article back in 2012 by thehockeywriters.com, they described his playing style perfectly:

Gritty, ultra-competitive and mean, Tucker could get under any players skin. While he was small in stature, (he played at 5’10”, 170 pounds), Tucker would often drop the gloves with much bigger players, and he held his own in most of the fights.

While, he would get under the oppositions skin, he would still put the puck into the net. In 2005-06, Tucker produced 28 goals and 33 assists for 61 points in 74 games while accumulating 100 penalty minutes on top of it.

To compare, Kadri is one of the most hated players in the NHL currently. He scored a career high in goals (32) and points (61) this past season. Kadri has also accumulated a career high 95 penalty minutes in 82 games. While he does make some plays that could be seen as dirty, like the hit against Daniel Sedin on November 5th, 2016, he also makes highlight reel goals, like when he fought off Connor McDavid on November 1st, 2016 to score the OT winner.

Both players are assets from their offensive abilities they add to the team but they have also harmed the team at times by taking bad penalties.

Similarity #2: Leading by Example:

Tucker was a great leader on and off of the ice. Tucker knew hockey was a business and wouldn’t let the small things get under his skin, if he got traded then he got traded, he wouldn’t dread on it. He was also a leader on the ice and would stick up for his teammates when needed.

Kadri had a different route to being a leader on the team. He started off with a bad off-ice reputation when he was suspended for two games during the 2014-15 season by the Leafs for skipping or being late for team meetings. During the 2015-16 season, Kadri showed that he has changed his off-ice behaviour and was ready to take on a leadership role with the team. Before the beginning of the 2016-17 season, Kadri stated that he wanted to be a role model for the young rookies joining the lineup, such as Auston Matthews. In an interview with the media (posted by torontosun.com), Kadri had this to say after being asked,

“Will you be taking more off-ice responsibility?”

Whether you get a letter on your sweater or not, you still have to lead by example and that’s what I intend on doing. Obviously Babs has stressed to me he wants me to take on that leadership role, just be a good example for the young guys. I’m still learning as well, I don’t know it all by any means. But I’ll do the best I can to help these kids, make them understand and help them play in a market like Toronto.

Kadri has shown he is ready to be a leader.  Both players had different routes to become a leader but in the end, they both wanted to lead by example and wanted to help their teams become as successful as possible.

Similarity #3: Strong Defensive Abilities

Tucker was a very good and productive player in juniors and because of that he didn’t rely on his defensive abilities much. During his first couple of seasons in the league, Tucker wasn’t very good defensively and his offense wasn’t the same as it was in juniors. This caused him to take on a more aggressive playing style, having a career high 176 penalty minutes in 82 games during the 1998-99 season. While Tucker adapted to a tougher league, he also improved on his defensive abilities and with that, his offensive abilities improved as well causing him to become a very good two-way forward.

Just like Tucker, Kadri was a star in juniors and never depended on his defensive abilities. Since he wasn’t good defensively and wasn’t producing much at the NHL level, he was sent back and forth between the NHL and AHL for 3 seasons. Once Kadri’s offensive abilities improved in 2012-13, producing 44 points in 48 games, he made his jump to the NHL and never looked back.

Since he was good offensively, Kadri’s defensive game wasn’t paid any attention. But in 2016-17, Leafs coach, Mike Babcock, gave Kadri a defensive role with the team hoping that it would help improve Kadri’s two-way game. Not only did Kadri excel at the defensive aspect of his game but he also reached a career high in points and finally surpassed 30 goals. Not only did his defensive game increase immensely, but his offensive game grew with it.

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Both players started off as junior stars but would eventually realize that they needed to depend on more than just their offensive abilities and ultimately became two-way players.

Conclusion:

Tucker and Kadri are both hated by fans of the opposing teams. They play a very on edge game that has resulted in each of them receiving suspensions at times in their careers. While they are very aggravating to play against, they are still able to produce offensively and help their team win.

Tucker has been a leader on and off the ice from a young age while Kadri had to go through some rough experiences before realizing that he needed to change his attitude and become a more responsible player who can help lead a team. Also, while they both can produce offensively, they worked on their defensive abilities and became strong two-way players that could help their team on each end of the ice.

Next: Toronto Maple Leafs All-Time Best Draft Picks #5 - 3

If I had to choose one player, it would be Nazem Kadri. Based on the fact that he’s figured out his role earlier in his career, I believe that Kadri will be a very good player and better than Tucker was.