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Kadri, Clarkson, Gardiner, Reimer & Ryan O'Reilly?

April 23, 2014, 12:50 PM ET [577 Comments]
Colin Dambrauskas
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Follow Colin on Twitter!: @ColinDJD

As the summer months approach and the memories of another collapse with respect to the Toronto Maple Leafs fade, speculation and rumors become the topic of discussion for most fans.

That said, I thought I’d get a jump start on said conversations given that, aside from the Phil Kessel tweets, there hasn’t been much to discuss concerning the Leafs. After another disappointing season, it would stand to reason that changes will be expected before the 2014-15 NHL season begins. There were players for Toronto who either played at or above, their expected levels, while others fell well below.

Of those who “fell below”, I feel that there will be a few whose names will persist with respect to potential trade discussions over the summer. These such names are that of Nazem Kadri, David Clarkson, Jake Gardiner, and James Reimer.

You’re right – nothing new to report on that front.

Here’s the thing. Of those listed above, I feel that only one, maybe two of the players will be moved within the next NHL season. For starters, Kadri is going to come up often and I feel that fans are likely to be unjust or ill-advised in their assessments of this young player. Nazem has now played 177 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and has registered 113pts so far, as a 23 year old. While his 200ft game could stand to improve, his overall production has been pretty good for someone of his age/experience level.

This past season was his first full, 82 game schedule of his career and he managed 50 points for the year (.64ppg). His veteran winger and team leader, Joffrey Lupul, managed the exact same point per game pace despite being in the NHL since 2005. While this isn’t intended to be a direct comparison, what should be considered here is that Kadri is still quite young and is putting up numbers similar to a “successful” second line veteran in Joffrey Lupul.

With that established, I feel it will be a very poor decision to move Kadri unless it was for a young promising player in return. Toronto cannot afford to take chances on moving any other young players of Kadri’s ilk unless it’s a slam dunk type of deal.

Next on the list is David Clarkson. I feel that with the media attention and 10 game suspension that Clarkson received, the expectations placed on him by fans were quite high. It was almost like the Leafs acquired another version of Sidney Crosby – yes, a lot of fans were that crazy excited for this guy. It is of my opinion that Clarkson should be given another full year before being assessed by the management team as per his worth to the team.

With a rather poor 2013-14 campaign, expectations of Clarkson should be much lower and perhaps as a direct consequence, we see the player which Nonis assumed he acquired. Not to say that Clarkson can’t necessarily handle the pressure, but let’s be real – too many fans thought they had another 30 goal scorer on their hands. A refocused David Clarkson next year could round out the numbers to where he should be, 15-20 goals and someone who makes room for a guy like Kadri to push his own game to the next level.

The remaining two I feel, while they may be still young and haven’t lived up to their own potential, will likely be dealt due to organizational need. It’s too clear that James Reimer wants to be a starter, and he simply can’t compete with Jon Bernier. Consider that an easy move. Jake Gardiner, on the other hand, is a very promising young prospect who appears to struggle under the coaching of Randy Carlyle.

As we’ve discussed time and time again, Toronto either needs to change their on ice personnel or off-ice personnel in order to achieve a unified group. Given that it appears to be clear that Randy Carlyle won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, it will be Gardiner who is shown the door, first.

The reason Gardiner is expendable is primarily due to Morgan Rielly knocking him down the depth charts. They play a similar style and offer a similar product, but Rielly is a stronger option in that regard and Toronto needs an upgrade in terms of shutdown defensemen.

While I do not have anything to offer in terms of potential defensive acquisitions, I will offer this – what about Ryan O’Reilly of the Avalanche?

Colorado has several contracts which they will need to address over the summer months, and given that Paul Stastny, Jamie McGinn, Tyson Barrie, and Stefan Elliott make that list, add to the fact that Stastny has been doing very well with Landeskog this year, they may have some reservations about offering top dollar to O’Reilly in order to sign him long-term.

Keep in mind that Nathan MacKinnon will be up for a new contract in two years as well…and if he keeps playing the way he has been, he’ll be demanding big dollars!
Just something to ponder over…

Thanks for reading!
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