Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Leafs re-sign the 'DREAM'

Darren Calabrese/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Justin Smith
Editor

Well it finally happened.

Nazem Kadri signed a two-year 5.8 million dollar bridge contract. The word 'bridge' is very important in this scenario because it was logical that Leafs management would need to see a little more from the young centre in order to pay him the money he wanted. The Leafs have control of Kadri now and quite frankly needed to take advantage of that fact. Nonis was not going to budge on a 'bridge' deal so it only seemed inevitable that we would see a deal structured much like the one he signed yesterday.

Having Kadri signed through this year and next gives the Leafs time to evaluate his progression and also gives a little stability up the middle. There are those that have said that this has gone down a lot smoother than they thought it would. The fact it got done just before the start of training camp is extremely fortunate for Kadri as it gives him a full camp with the new look Leafs. But for some reason there are those that thought it wouldn't get done before the team opened camp. What exactly has Kadri done to deserve people thinking the worst of him constantly? It has been over half a decade since the last time this team could boast a starting forward with a plus/minus of 15. The big 'IF' here is whether or not he can keep up a consistent scoring pace because he started to trail off at the end of the season last year.

The Leafs will open up the 2013-2014 NHL season on the road against the Montreal Canadiens and will look to continue there first game dominance over the HABS. Hopefully fans will get the chance to see newly signed Kadri scoring goals and crushing Gallagher during the game.