Toronto Maple Leafs: Despite Low Goal Totals Nazem Kadri Is Playing Great

Nazem Kadri may not be racking up the goals and points like usual, but make no mistake, he is playing great.

Kadri may not hit the 30 goal mark again, but the third #1 Centre on the Toronto Maple Leafs won’t be staying silent this season.

Just in time for the speculation on his “slump” Kadri went on a three game goal streak.  He’s started to find his footing and there’s no doubt he’ll be a big contributor to the team. In fact, given his current situation and the state of the team, he may be exceeding expectations for the Toronto Maple Leafs.  He may only have four goals and nine points, but that doesn’t begin to tell the whole story of Kadri’s play.

Third Line and Ice Time Reduction

Since the addition of John Tavares, Kadri has been forced down to the third line. Of course this is no fault of his, after posting 32 goals the last two seasons, it was would have been hard to solidify his second line spot any better. Regardless, adding a player of such caliber is sure to shuffle the lines. It’s not Kadri’s fault he plays on the team with the best centres in the NHL – there’s no shame on being a third liner on this team.

Kadri himself has stated that he takes no issue with his new role. His new spot does, however, come with likely unwelcomed changes. Most notably of these is ice time.

Averaging 16:46 of ice time last season, this has, unsurprisingly, dropped. While playing along a full lineup (William Nylander excluded), Kadri clocked in at only 15:56, almost an entire minute less. While it may not seem like much, it can make a huge difference. It’s also important to note that 12 of Kadri’s goals last year came on the powerplay. This year, however, while he does see time on a dangerous powerplay unit, it doesn’t necessarily translate into points.

With so many offensive weapons on the powerplay, Kadri is essentially last in line to get the puck. He’s also been positioned in the slot, and while he may get opportunities there, it’s not main source of the Leafs’ powerplay offense.

Matthews takes the left side and looks to shoot or pass to Tavares, positioned down low. This, if he doesn’t choose to find Morgan Rielly at the point or Mitch Marner on the right. Marner, another catalyst of the unit, looks for a tip from Tavares, or back to Matthews starting the process over again. So while Kadri certainly does serve a purpose in his powerplay position, he isn’t in the thick of things.

Linemates

Being “demoted” to the third line comes with new wingers. Pär Lindholm and Connor Brown have been his most used wingers, and that right there is the main reason his production has been down. It’s not that they’re bad players, but a centre’s production is based on whether or not his linemates score, and Kadri’s don’t.

Despite having a Corsi-For above 50% Kadri’s line hasn’t scored much, owing to the fact that his wingers aren’t offensively gifted and bad luck.  The team is shooting under 7% when Kadri is on the ice, which is low.  He has a PDO of .990 which indicates bad luck.  He also has more defensive zone starts than offensive zone starts.

When you combine his linemates, unlucky shooting percentage, and his deployment, it’s understandable why his numbers are down, despite the fact he is playing great.

It’s also interesting to consider how his linemates are used on special teams. Both of his wingers are used on the penalty kill, as are wingers on all other lines, except the fourth. So, often times when a penalty is killed off, the fourth line takes to the ice, followed by the first, second, and finally third. This means that in some cases, Kadri is forced to wait out an entire line rotation, since his wingers have been hard at work on the kill. It’s not always the case, but it certainly can cost a player a shift or two.

Kadri, of course, is no slouch defensively himself. We’ve seen him used as a shutdown centre ever since Mike Babcock took charge.

We constantly hear of Winnipeg’s top line being among the best in hockey, and in the Leafs’ recent home-and-home against the Jets, who else took to centre ice to face-off with Mark Scheifele but Nazem Kadri.

Time to Shine

With Matthews out of the lineup Kadri has moved up to play with Patrick Marleau and Kasperi Kapanen, and it seems to be working out.

When (or if) Nylander signs, we assume Kadri will be moved to the second unit, and while he won’t be partnered with the offensive powerhouses of the top unit, he may find himself in a more prominent role.

Regardless of how he contributes, be it offensively, defensively or both, Nazem Kadri is and will continue to be a integral part of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and nothing is standing is standing in his way.  Points and goals aren’t always the best way to judge a player, and if you look beyond his four goals and nine points, you see a player who is still among the best on the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Thanks for reading!

Stats courtesy of naturalstattrick.com and  Hockey Reference