The Toronto Maple Leafs have been rumored to have interest in bringing back Nazem Kadri. There are only three problems with that scenario. The Leafs do not need Nazem Kadri, they cannot afford Nazem Kadri, and the Calgary Flames would rather send him to Edmonton than Toronto.
So why won’t this stupid rumor die………..because it’s July 20th and Nick Kypreos is reporting that the 34-year-old would waive his no-movement clause to play for Toronto or Montreal. Could most NHL teams use Kadri as a #2 center coming off a career-high 35-goal season? Sure, but there seem to be a lot of complaints about John Tavares being too old and too slow as the Leafs second-line center behind Auston Matthews.
Tavares is the same age as Kadri and scored more goals than Kadri last season.
With Matthews as the top line center, Tavares can still be a threat on the second line next season, but GM Brad Treliving will likely have to find someone to fill that role in 2026 or 2027 at the latest, and that answer is not Kadri.
With the acquisition of Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy, the Leafs have just under $3 million left under the salary cap and that amount will get smaller once Nick Robertson’s arbitration hearing occurs or a settlement is reached. Treliving would have to include Roy, Joshua, or Max Domi in the deal to fit Kadri’s $7 million cap hit, and one of those three veterans are not what the Flames would be looking for in the deal.
It is likely that the Leafs would have to give up Easton Cowan in a trade for Kadri, and that might be the stupidest trade this organization has made since giving up a first round pick to clear Patrick Marleau’s salary off their cap, so that they could pay Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson.
The biggest roadblock to this deal ever taking place is the fact that Calgary ownership apparently has a bug somewhere in their anatomy for Treliving, who left the Flames after the 2023 season and soon joined the Leafs. This manifested itself when Toronto tried to acquire Chris Tanev from the Flames before he was dealt to Dallas. Reportedly, the Leafs offer was better than the deal the Flames eventually made with the Stars (defenseman Artem Grushnikov and two draft picks), but Calgary was apparently charging a Treliving tax.
Calgary wants to make the playoffs this season, and that might be a pipedream, but even if they falter before the trade deadline, it would be a longshot that Kadri will be playing for a team playing Bluue and White. IT is more likely that he could eventually be playing for the Bleu, Blanc, et Rouge.
Kadri would be a very nice add to the lineup. There is lots of chatter and speculation about what the Leafs will do this offseason, however, the UFA crop was relatively weak this year. Next year may be different. With three or four top tier UFA’s potentially avaialble, Leafs might be better off waiting for an opportunity to land a significant player as the cap rises.