The Maple Leafs 5-4 overtime victory over the New York Islanders Thursday night was clearly the Nazem Kadri show.

The young center put on a dazzling display at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, scoring his first NHL hat trick and vaulting into the top 20 in league scorers with 21 points, right next to names like Getzlaf, Malkin and Giroux.

The 22 year old Kadri showed remarkable poise and skill on all three scoring plays, but the third goal that gave Toronto a two goal lead late in the second period was reminiscent of Buffalo Sabres Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault, taking a Mike Kostka breakout pass in stride, cutting into the Islanders zone and weaving through three defenders before beating Isles goalie Evgeni Nabakov just inside the far post.

Kadri has been the most pleasant surprise for the Leafs this season, as before training camp it was uncertain what his role would be and what position he would play, leading to speculation that he would be included in a package to acquire Roberto Luongo.

At almost the halfway mark, Kadri leads the club with 13 assists and is second only to James van Riemsdyk with eight goals, in spite of being third on the center depth chart behind Tyler Bozak and Mikhail Grabovski and 16th on the club in average ice time(15:08).

The picture looks pretty rosy for the Leafs with their 2009 first rounder blooming into an impact/top six forward, but as the Ryan O’Reilly scenario in Colorado proves, the road going forward can have rather large potholes when money comes into question.

If Kadri continues at his current scoring pace and finishes the season as the Leafs leading scorer, he will become a restricted free agent this summer with similar negotiating leverage to O’Reilly, who led the Avalanche with 55 points in 2011-12.

Kadri might have wanted to get away from the Leafs organization before this year, as he could not break through to the NHL with Ron Wilson at the helm, but Randy Carlyle is a believer in his abilities and continues to champion him as a top talent.

Unlike Colorado, who has over $10 Million per season allocated towards centers Paul Stastny and Matt Duchene next season, Toronto has just Mikhail Grabovski signed long term, with Tim Connolly, Tyler Bozak and David Steckel are all scheduled for unrestricted free agency at the end of the season.

The only potential obstacle in the way of Leafs GM Dave Nonis in locking up Kadri for the foreseeable future would be unreasonable contract demands from his representatives. If the asking price off of one good season is a king’s ransom, then a holdout is not out of the realm of possibility.

That will likely not be a pressing issue until June, but it could affect how Nonis approaches the trade deadline and whether he should trade or re-sign Bozak.

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