What’s the next move with Nazem Kadri?

We all know, on the surface at least, the “story” with Nazem Kadri since he was drafted by the Maple Leaf organization in the summer of 2009.  The talented young forward has made his way into the Leaf line-up on different occasions, only to be returned to the Marlies because of roster limitations, a lack of production, need for further development or injury. 

Until recently, I haven’t at all liked how the Leafs have handled his situation, but I won’t go into all the specifics that I’ve outlined in the past yet again.  Suffice to say I had hoped he would spend all of last season with the Marlies, so he would be best prepared to make a run for a spot with the big club and stay here this season.

He has been bounced around like a yo-yo, and my strong preference would have been that once he finally earned the call-up, he would be here for good.  That hasn't happened.

In any event, he thrived offensively with the Marlies through most of this season, and has shown glimpses (as he also did at times last season, I must say) of being more physical and better all-around in his defensive play when he has played with the big club as well.

I’m glad that Kadri spent prolonged time down on the farm and has has shined for most of the season at that level.  And I’m hoping that, with this latest recall, he will indeed never have to go back to the Marlies.

(One only partly-related thought:  I wonder how Leaf fans would assess Kadri's play if they just saw him in action for the first time, without knowing he was a high first-round draft choice?  I'd love to hear your opinions...)

I still have to wonder, however, if he remains one of the “chips” that Burke has that could help him to acquire something more to his liking when it comes to bulking up on the forward lines—either in terms of size, elite skill or grit—come the stretch drive and (hopefully, for Leaf fans) a playoff push.  And I do not say that simply because he was a "healthy scratch" against the Senators on Tuesday night.  (I would have thought Kadri, if he played well, would have been useful against the Sens, but the brass clearly felt a bit more thunder and lightning was needed, thus the decision to go with Rosehill...)

Kadri, at 21, is young enough and has shown enough sizzle that many teams would no doubt like to get their hands on a young man with his apparent potential, just as the Leafs did a year ago with Jake Gardiner and Joe Colborne via separate trades.  Of course, the best course of action, it is often said, is the trade “you don’t make”, so Burke is no doubt contemplating that avenue (i.e. keeping Kadri in the fold) as well.

(Quick aside: for me, Burke's public comments and protestations mean little.  He will do what he believes he needs to do to improve the team now and for the future, and that's his job- regardless of any public suggestions about who's "not going anywhere".)

Here is the present reality: despite the many changes Burke has already made to this roster and the obvious improvement we have witnessed over the past three plus years, more needs to be done—if the Leafs really hope to make big progress sooner than later.  And if we realize that, so does Burke.  And he’s the one that can do something about it.

While it was a bit of a surprise that he acquired and then dealt Kris Versteeg last season (we generally think of Burke liking “his own” guys), that would suggest Kadri, despite being a Burke draft selection, is not necessarily ensured of a permanent place in Toronto in the future, either.  I’ve just had a nagging sense that for all the positive things that have been said about him since the day he was drafted, the brass is not in one hundred per cent agreement that he is a big part of the future here. 

Yet, while the roster is deeper, it is not so filled with high-end talent that they will be giving guys away.  So we know that in any transaction they do make, they will be reluctant to give away talent or youth.

But to get something, you generally have to give up something, though Burke has engineered a couple of rather remarkable deals in his time in Toronto—moves that cost the team either nothing off the roster, or players who no longer fit here, anyway.

I think they have a decision to make.  They can keep getting incrementally better, bit by bit, now already into the fourth year of Burke’s re-construction.  (So much for, as I've said here many times, Burke's earlier-stated impatience with a "five-year re-build".)  Or they can make another dynamic move to get better more quickly, with an eye toward being serious contenders in 2012-’13, rather than a year or two later than that.

Yes, the Leafs have some nice young talent that will mature even more over the next two years, no question.  The defense is young and while flawed, there is a fairly strong core there, as we have discussed here in the past.  But Burke is not trading Phaneuf and he’s not moving Gardiner.  Who is “touchable”, if anyone, in an effort to get better up front?  Schenn?  Gunnarsson?

Likely neither, but if I had to pick one, I’m thinking they would move Gunnarsson, though I personally would not, as I’ve posted here before.

So what do they have to deal, who may bring something in return, a trade-able asset who is not on the roster right now?

Kadri.

Many of us believe his name has been on the table many times over the past year or so.  The Leafs would never acknowledge that, of course, and they may not even be "offering" him.  But he is a piece I believe they would move, if they felt they could get better right now.

This may be a February deal, with a team that is out of the playoff picture who has a veteran that still has two or three years left and can be an impact player next season—when Toronto should be that much closer to contention in the wide open Eastern Conference.

For me, Kadri’s is the name that keeps bubbling up to the surface.  If not him, who?