The NHL Department of Player Safety handed down a four game suspension to Leafs forward Nazem Kadri for his head hit on Edmonton winger Matt Fraser in the 4-1 Oilers victory over Toronto on Monday.
Kadri will not appeal the suspension, his second in succeeding weeks.
The 24-year-old center was benched three games for disciplinary reasons by Leafs Team President Brendan Shanahan and will now miss home games against San Jose Sharks, Minnesota Wild and Florida Panthers and Saturday's contest against the Senators in Ottawa.
Center Peter Holland did not play the final two games of the club's recent Western Canada road swing and is not expected to be available for Thursday's contest against the Sharks. According to Leafs TV's Paul Hendrick, the club will likely recall Sam Carrick from the AHL Toronto Marlies to replace Kadri.
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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman indicated at the league's GM Meetings in Boca Raton, FL that the salary cap for the 2015-16 season currently is estimated to be $71.5 Million but will be dependent on where the value of the Canadian dollar is what the cap figure is determined this spring.
Bettman said if Canadian dollar falls to 75 cents U.S. (it's at 78 now), cap estimated to be at $71.5M. Earliest projection was $73M.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) March 17, 2015What the final salary cap figure ends up will have some effect on the ability of the Maple Leafs to trade high salaried players such as Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf this summer as part of the club's rebuild.
Kessel has seven years remaining on his eight-year, $64 Million contract, while Phaneuf has six years left at $7 Million per season.
If the cap increases up to $2 Million for next season, the interest in either player should be significant if Toronto is willing to take back a bad contract in the deal. The Leafs will be looking to recoup draft picks and/or prospects for both core players, as well as entertaining trading veterans Tyler Bozak, Joffrey Lupul and others.
If the cap stays at $69 Million, the number of teams interested in taking on long term, high salaried players will decrease and may force the Leafs to retain salary for the length of their deals.
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McEichel Race – Points(Games Played)
8. PHILADELPHIA 73(72) 7. NEW JERSEY 71(70) 6. COLUMBUS 64(69) 5. CAROLINA 61(69) 4. TORONTO 60(71) 3. ARIZONA 50(70), 2. EDMONTON 50(70), 1. BUFFALO 47(70)
Current Leafs odds at winning Draft Lottery(9.5%) Same
Games To Watch: Columbus vs Edmonton
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Watch the St Patty's Day Edition of Leaf Buzz with myself and Rotowire's Paul Bruno:
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