Fans React as Nazem Kadri Trade Continues to Haunt the Maple Leafs

The talk of the town for several weeks was the potential reunion of Nazem Kadri and the Toronto Maple Leafs, but so far it's all purely speculation. Toronto doesn't have the assets to give away (or the cap space) and Calgary isn't too privy on letting their top goal scorer go for any package.

It would certainly help the Maple Leafs' offense but it's a very unlikely possibility unless Calgary falls off a cliff and decides to sell off their own assets.

But we wouldn't have been in this situation at all had things not gone off the rails towards the end of Kadri's tenure. Unceremoniously traded to the Avalanche for a package that could be considered less than bountiful; the team has regretted it ever since.

Fans are still reeling years later, and made their feelings known about how much they hated letting Kadri go.

It was a deal that seemed rushed from the beginning and the hopes that Barrie would be that offensive dynamo on the back end was a gamble that had a long-shot of paying off.

Kerfoot was expected to come in and be that two-way force that could slide up and down the lineup, but never really found his footing (no pun intended) in Toronto.

Meanwhile, Kadri exploded offensively in Colorado, won a Stanley Cup, and became one of the best goal-scoring but hard-nosed options in the league. He is exactly what Toronto could have used to help stop Florida's contingent of nastiness; if Sam Bennett wants to be rough, Kadri can return the favor.

It also stings because look what we got from Barrie and Kerfoot. The former had one season in Toronto with 39 points in 70 games (5 goals, 34 assists) and was nowhere near the double-digit scorer he was in Colorado.

Kerfoot lasted a bit longer in Toronto, playing for four seasons and putting up decent numbers with 134 points in 285 games (40 goals, 94 assists) but his defensive game slipped a bit and was signed away by Arizona in 2023.

They gave up a sure thing in Kadri because they were upset with his supposed attitude issues, and even knowing that he had a pregnant wife at home, still sent him across the continent.

That has shaped their playoff failures big time, as they've continued to search for that secondary option who can come in and supplement their stars; they've made trade after trade, signing after signing, but nothing has come close to Kadri.

He succeeded the moment he left Toronto, and maybe he had something to prove to his old club. But letting Kadri go in the first place is still a move that has ramifications to this very day.