Toronto Maple Leafs Win Nazem Kadri Trade in the End

The Toronto Maple Leafs most controversial move of recent memory has turned into a long-term win.

Two summers ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs traded Nazem Kadri to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Alex Kerfoot and Tyson Barrie.

It was a good trade at the time, and it’s a good trade now.  The trade had it’s critics, but as usual, they couldn’t see the forest for the emotional trees.

Nazem Kadri was a fan favorite and he is an awesome player.  He was gritty at a time when the fanbase wanted more grit, not less.  He was also one of the only homegrown star players the team has drafted and developed over the last thirty or so years, so it was tough to let him go. Even tougher to view the trade objectively.

Toronto Maple Leafs Kadri and Kerfoot

Kerfoot was younger, cheaper, and didn’t get suspended twice in a row during the playoffs.  Mad about the Leafs failing to beat Boston two years in a row? No one deserves more blame than Nazem Kadri for that.

Kadri is also an offense-only player who provides very little defense.  The year before the Leafs acquired Kerfoot, he was arguably the best defensive forward in the NHL. He hasn’t lived up to that, but he’s been a excellent defender and provided the Leafs with an element they didn’t have before. (i.e a strong defensive forward).

Now, I wouldn’t say that Kerfoot has completely lived up to my expectations.  Frankly, I’m of the belief that anyone who isn’t elite isn’t worth more than a league minimum deal.  Kerfoot, however, has a history of being an elite defender, and because it’s possible that he gets back to that, and because he had a great playoffs, I’d want to keep him around.

If a player has elite potential – either offensively or defensively –  I think he’s worth a small bump on the league minimum.  With two more years at $3.5 and the potential to be a defensive stud, and still just 26, he’s worth hanging on to. (Charts from @jfresh and other stats from naturalstattrick.com).

As for the trade itself, the Leafs got a free year of Tyson Barrie (and whatever you think about him is probably also wrong. After Babcock wasd fired, Barrie was great and did exactly what was expected from the day that Sheldon Keefe was hired to the game where they were eliminated by the Blue Jackets last summer).

So the Leafs got a free year of a 50 point puck-moving defensemen, and a four years young, one-million dollar cheaper player who provides the team with an element they didn’t have (defensive forward) in exchange for one they had too much of (offense-only centres).

Kadri is too good to get third line minutes, and Kerfoot is much more versatile.  Also, there is the little fact of Kadri getting suspended in three out of four of the last playoffs. It doesn’t even sound like something that could be true, but it is.  And it in all three of these seasons, his selfish, dare I say completely idiotic behavior, forced his team out of the playoffs early.

Kerfoot, if he can get away from Ilya Mikheyev (he played by far most of his time with Mikheyev) has a lot more offensive potential than he’s shown.  If deployed properly, he can still be an elite defender.  His contact is cheap, he’s a fast player, who is versatile and well liked.

Kerfoot should be kept ahead of Justin Holl, who the Leafs must ensure gets picked in the expansion draft.  Regardless of what happens, the debate is over: Kyle Dubas most controversial trade is a win.