The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted a hometown player and he brought the Stanley Cup home, just maybe not in the way we all imagined.
The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t even won a playoff series since they drafted Nazem Kadri 7th overall in the 2009 draft.
They did, however, trade him to Colorado, where they actually win, and he won there.
While extremely jealous, we are still very happy for Kadri, who was always one of our favorite players.,
Kadri Wins Cup, for the Avalanche and not the Toronto Maple Leafs
Kadri can serve as a great lesson to the current members of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Much like William Nylander, Kadri failed for years to win over the majority of Leafs fans. He was too soft, not a number-one-centre, and never would be (wrong, wrong, and wrong). The same people will always need something and someone to complain about, but Kadri is an example of how a player can win those folks over.
Here Kadri brings the Cup into the mosque. Hundreds here joining in the celebration in #ldnont. He is the first Muslim to capture hockey’s top trophy. pic.twitter.com/wIFSDRzrZL
— Andrew Lupton (@AndrewLuptonCBC) August 27, 2022
Kadri brought the Cup home as a Champion and that is amazing. I wish he won here, and I bet he does too.
And as much as I’m happy about his improbable late-career breakout season and his Stanley Cup, the reason he got traded was his own fault. There isn’t a player on any team in any pro sport that would not get moved after missing back-to-back game sevens with suspension.
Regardless, Kadri played 561 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs. which is the 27th most of all-time. He played more games here than Dough Gilmour, Marner, Matthews, Nylander, Gary Leeman, Jake Gardiner, Johnny Bower, Lanny McDonald, Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf, or JVR.
Kadri becomes the first Muslim player to win the Stanley Cup, and he is the first player to bring it to a mosque. He has obviously had to overcome some pretty horrible racism during his journey to do that, and while that shouldn’t be the case, the fact that he has overcome it, to reach the absolute height of his profession, is something to celebrate, and it’s a sweet victory over the shadowy losers who preach hate from the darkness.
To conclude, I do wish that Kadri had of been able to win with the Leafs, but regardless, I couldn’t be happier to see him come back here as a champion. I was also hoping he’d re-sign here, but we wish him all the best in Calgary.