Nazem Kadri Shares His True Thoughts on the Maple Leafs

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Graham Montgomery
November 10, 2023 (5:40 PM)

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The Flames and the Leafs have both been off to tough starts this year although the pain in Calgary is a lot stronger than that in Toronto so far. Flames forward Nazem Kadri shared some thoughts about the Leafs as both teams remain desperate for a win tonight.

Kadri Defends Leafs Star Players Matthews, Marner, And More

One common thought about the Leafs is that they are soft and easy to play against. Instead of fighting back or laying a big hit in response to a previous play, the team simply complains to the officials. Today Kadri did his best to dispel this notion.

"It's about battles & grinding. It's not necessarily laying a big hit or fighting somebody or chirping somebody. Those guys have that low-key toughness & I've seen it for years. I don't expect anything different from those guys."

Kadri Stands Up For Leafs General Manager Treliving

The Flames forward and former Leaf also added his thoughts to the discussion surrounding Brad Treliving. The new Leafs general manager has taken a lot of criticism for the moves he made in the offseason after the Leafs brought him in from Calgary.

Nazem Kadri on Treliving: "He's a players guy. He respects everybody's situation, which could be hard to come by in this league sometimes"

on Brad taking heat in Toronto:

"He knows what he's doing. It's too early to hop on anybody quite yet"

Treliving has faced criticism for trying to sell the fanbase on a Leafs team with added grit and toughness in the form of Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and Ryan Reaves. As none of those players have panned out particularly well so far, at least some of that criticism is earned. Still, Kadri believes he has what it takes to be an effective gm.