Ranking the Top 5 Biggest Toronto Maple Leafs Trades of the Decade
By Jeff Borsuk
4. Nazem Kadri for Tyson Barrie and Alexander Kerfoot
Nazem Kadri was a much-maligned member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Early in his career, he was criticized by his coaches Dallas Eakins and then Ron Wilson for his perceived lack of work ethic and conditioning. He was often characterized as being lazy both at and away from the rink.
At the end of his tenure with the Leafs, Kadri was once again crushed by his detractors. This time it was a result of the early exits he made from postseason play due to the reckless actions that led to his suspensions. Despite all the criticism, Kadri was an important member of the Leafs core.
In April of 2016, Kadri signed a six-year team-friendly deal worth a total value of $27 million. That deal only got better as the centerman produced offensively the way that Leafs brass always knew that he could.
On July 1st, 2019, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Avalanche swapped high-level talent. The Leafs gave up a player in Kadri who some considered to be worthy of the captaincy on a sweetheart contract in exchange for two players who help the current iteration of the Leafs.
Toronto got Alexander Kerfoot and Tyson Barrie for Kadri. The contracts and cap hits of all three of these players played a significant role in executing the transaction. Colorado retained 50 percent of Barrie’s annual average salary of $5.5 million to get the deal done.
The Toronto Maple Leafs also aren’t expected to keep Barrie beyond this season because he is set to be an unrestricted free agent and he could demand compensation that Toronto cannot fit under its cap.
Kerfoot, however, should have a longer stay in Toronto. According to CapFriendly, he has a $3.5 million AAV and is locked up until the end of the 2022-23 season thanks to the four-year deal he received from Kyle Dubas in the summer.