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I don't Understand the Nazem Kadri Hate
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 12:35 am
by The-Insider
I'm reading opinions on other hockey forums and the consesus is that this was the wrong pick, and this guy is not was not the right player for the Leafs.
What?
Is it that people are upset the Leafs couldn't get Schenn, or are people upset the Leafs didn't take Cowen, not MSP? Kadri hasn't played a minute yet and people are trashing the guy, I wonder how many people have seen him to play to come to such conclusions. The guy actually led the London Knights when Tavarez was injured in the playoffs. He was projected to go exactly the same spot the Leafs took him so it's not as if they took him 10 spots higher than they should have.....
It just doesn't make sense to me that people are upset that Leafs picked up a really, really solid prospect that fits the mold and character of a Burke type of player.
BTW the top 5 were set in stone from the get go:
Tavarez
Hedman
Duchene
Kane
Schenn
Maybe is Boyd Deveraux didn't score that hat trick in the final game of the season, then the Leafs would have had the 5th overall pick. But I'm sorry but this kid is not getting a fair shake already for no reason whatsoever. He's going to be good, really good and that's not a question, the question is how good will he be?
Re: Nazeem Kadri
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 12:52 am
by 5DOM
I don't know anything about NHL, but is Luke's brother a better prospect than Luke?
And how good is this Kadri guy?
Re: Nazeem Kadri
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 2:40 am
by bryant08
Offensive spark plug, shifty guy, good forechecker is what I've heard about him. I only saw London towards the end of the season, and I wasn't watching Kadri most of the time. But I did find a nice tidbit on him here:
http://thehockeywriters.com/12-nazem-ka ... -rankings/Compared to Scott Gomez and Marc Savard.
Re: Nazeem Kadri
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 2:42 am
by whysoserious
I don't understand the thinking from Burke in saying we could have moved in to the top three but it would have cost us Schenn. Schenn for as good as he is will never be a franchise player. Whereas we had a shot at Tavares and Duchene who can be franchise forwards.
This team is still lacking frontline talent. Very disappointed. At the end of the day, Tavares was probably never going to come here, but we needed a homerun and all we got was a single.
As for Kadri, hopefully he'll be good but I'm not holding my breath for him to be a guy who can carry a franchise.
Re: Nazeem Kadri
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 2:58 am
by bryant08
Burke mentioned that he could've got to two using Schenn, and he would've looked like an idiot if Tavares wasn't still on the board at that pick. I'm not that high on Kadri, but it's not a bad pick. Kadri has the potential to be another very good second liner, and the Leafs seem to be stockpiling quite a few of those. With young forwards like Tlusty, Kulemin, Bozak, Hanson, and Kadri in the mix, all the pieces are coming together minus the top line level talent (obviously the draft is the best way to get your young top level talent, but FA/trades are legit options with our cap flexibility). On defense, we still need some work in my opinion which is why I wanted Cowen, but there's still some time and picks over the course of this rebuild in which to replenish the defensive core.
Burke eluded to Schenn as a captain and in that role as a shutdown d-man. Tavares and Duchene may have a chance to be franchise forwards, but Schenn has proven in his one year that he has the ability to shut down some of the league's best players. Now for me it all depends on what the asking price was. I'm assuming it was Schenn+our pick possibly (to get up there) and that's too much. I don't think you can look to Kadri to carry a franchise or even be a first liner, but I think he's a decent bet to be a top 6 forward.
If we could've pulled off Kaberle+our pick to Boston for Kessel+their first rounder, now that's one thing I would've really considered. I don't know if it was on the table with all the miscommunication, but I would've given it a good hard look. Overall, I'm disappointed like many others we couldn't hit the homerun, but we've got some more picks and July 1st is only a few days away. I want to see what Burke once this is all complete. But I guess Burke wasn't expecting to have Kadri at the end of today, he seemed like he tried very hard to move up but the price was just too high (even if it was just for Brayden Schenn). I'm more disappointed we couldn't find a way into the late first with guys like Carter Ashton, Jordan Caron and John Moore available down there.
Re: Nazeem Kadri
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 4:58 am
by beater97
Big big fan of this pick. This kid is good and will improve greatly. I can't wait to see him in a couple of years.
Re: Nazeem Kadri
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 5:30 am
by BurlRapFan
bryant08 wrote:Burke mentioned that he could've got to two using Schenn, and he would've looked like an idiot if Tavares wasn't still on the board at that pick.
Exactly, you don't make that trade just in the hope Tavares would still be there, you have to know his is there to even consider it.
I also don't think the deal would have been worth it had Tavares been there at 2, but that's more because I'm not that high on Tavares as opposed to thinking Luke Schenn is the be-all and end-all. I might have considered Kaberle+7 for 2 with Tavares on the board, but only if we'd have been able to get something else back from Tampa (Meszaros? Ryan Malone?). But it's moot now.
bryant08 wrote:If we could've pulled off Kaberle+our pick to Boston for Kessel+their first rounder, now that's one thing I would've really considered. I don't know if it was on the table with all the miscommunication, but I would've given it a good hard look.
I'm not sure about this... I like Kessel, but we'd be dealing for the negotiation rights and right to match an offer. If you can work out a reasonable contract with him first then maybe a straight-up deal, but not knowing how much money Kessel's agent wants, giving up a cost-certain Kaberle and a higher pick is way too much.
As much as I like Kessel, I don't think he's a great fit with the Leafs right now, because we don't have a playmaker to pair him with. He needs to be with a Marc Savard type to set him up, which made this other tidbit you found about Kadri interesting...
bryant08 wrote:Compared to Scott Gomez and Marc Savard.
I'm not sold on Kadri by any stretch, but I'm open-minded about it, and I prefer him to most of the alternatives available at 7 (notably Paajarvi and Cowen).
Re: I don't Understand the Nazem Kadri Hate
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 9:20 pm
by The-Insider
In Kadri, they get a player who had 25 goals and 78 points for the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights. The Maple Leafs figure he'll need at least another year of seasoning in junior.
Kadri was born and raised in London and is of Lebanese descent. He wants to become a player that young Muslim children can look up to.
"It's nice to be a role model for those young kids and it's nice to have them look up to you," said Kadri. "You know, I think definitely me playing with the Leafs and being in this organization will help that out."
Burke fully agrees.
"If this has a ripple effect on young players in the Muslim community to take up hockey, that's a wonderful side effect," he said. "If that increases our player pool and touches a part of society we're not talking enough now, that's great."
In addition to the boos, some fans also chanted "67! 67!" prior to the Leafs pick - a reference to the last time the franchise won the Stanley Cup.
Kadri heard those derisive chants and wants to see the day that they're silenced.
"Hopefully when I get some experience under my belt, I'll become one of those impact players," he said. "I think I can be. I'll just bring everything to the table, everything that I possibly can.
"Hopefully, I can be fortunate to win a Stanley Cup with the Leafs."
There was a time he dreamed of doing that for the rival Montreal Canadiens. It didn't take him very long to drop that allegiance.
"I was a die-hard fan when I was growing up but today I found a new favourite team," said Kadri.
Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Re: I don't Understand the Nazem Kadri Hate
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 6:09 am
by Bam-Bam Bigelow
HF boards? Ya they hated the pick, and were real dumb/over emotional about it. Most wanted a homerun deal, others knew little of the draft and were shocked by Kadri because he was never pegged by people to go to the Leafs.
Kadri seems like a solid pick. Finally some offensive talent has been added. I think to get to two Tampa wanted not only Schenn and the #7 but also Kaberle. Takes more then one player to be a winning team in hockey, so I would of passed. I really like Taveras but he was gone anyway. Duchene and Hedman are nice also but too much to trade for either.
The Kessel deal failure sucked. If the Leafs didn't make that dumb failed run at a playoff spot in his draft year, we could very well already have Kessel. Hopefully Boston has real trouble signing him and the Leafs can work something out with a trade (assuring that they can meet Kessel's contract demands).
Re: I don't Understand the Nazem Kadri Hate
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:51 pm
by torontoaces04
I think a large portion of the hate has to do with the fact that everyone figured Burke was going to pull off a huge move. I think the blame it that lies solely with Burke himself. He did so much talking, from Tavares to Kaberle to drafted a 2nd Schenn, fan expectations were high to say the least.
I am happy with the Kadri pick. For those of you who watched the OHL playoffs this year, I'm sure that you'll be able to agree that at points during the playoffs, Nazem Kadri was the best player on his team.
Re: Nazeem Kadri
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 2:33 pm
by Griff83
BurlRapFan wrote:bryant08 wrote:Burke mentioned that he could've got to two using Schenn, and he would've looked like an idiot if Tavares wasn't still on the board at that pick.
Exactly, you don't make that trade just in the hope Tavares would still be there, you have to know his is there to even consider it.
I also don't think the deal would have been worth it had Tavares been there at 2, but that's more because I'm not that high on Tavares as opposed to thinking Luke Schenn is the be-all and end-all. I might have considered Kaberle+7 for 2 with Tavares on the board, but only if we'd have been able to get something else back from Tampa (Meszaros? Ryan Malone?). But it's moot now.
bryant08 wrote:If we could've pulled off Kaberle+our pick to Boston for Kessel+their first rounder, now that's one thing I would've really considered. I don't know if it was on the table with all the miscommunication, but I would've given it a good hard look.
I'm not sure about this... I like Kessel, but we'd be dealing for the negotiation rights and right to match an offer.
If you can work out a reasonable contract with him first then maybe a straight-up deal, but not knowing how much money Kessel's agent wants, giving up a cost-certain Kaberle and a higher pick is way too much.
As much as I like Kessel, I don't think he's a great fit with the Leafs right now, because we don't have a playmaker to pair him with. He needs to be with a Marc Savard type to set him up, which made this other tidbit you found about Kadri interesting...bryant08 wrote:Compared to Scott Gomez and Marc Savard.
I'm not sold on Kadri by any stretch, but I'm open-minded about it, and I prefer him to most of the alternatives available at 7 (notably Paajarvi and Cowen).
Theres no way Burke would make a deal for Kessel or any other pending RFA without first hand knowledge that the said player would forsure sign with the Leafs. Burke would also know what the players contract demands and how much he wanted to make. Teams dont just go out and trade for someone in a situation like Kessel if they aren't basically 100% sure this player wants to sign with them.
To the point about Kessel not fitting currently. Who cares if he currently fits or not, it matters most how hes going to fit when this team starts to compete. Yes we dont have a first line center currently but this isnt going to go on for much longer, be it signing the Sedins, aquiring a first line center through trade or whatever. I doubt Burke will ice a team for that long without having a true #1 line center. We are rebuilding and when you are rebuilding you have to start adding pieces and adding a 21 year old winger coming off a 35+ goal season is a good move regardless if you have the supposed proper players to play alongside him.
Dont expect Burke to sit around very long before he puts a winner on the ice, so even though Kessel might not have a frontline playmaker to play with right now, It wont be long until the Buds aquire that kind of player.Its also not like Kessel was purely feeding off of Savard and sitting by the side of the net for juicy tipins. Plenty of his 36 goals were individual rush's that really had nothing to do with Savard.