Nazem Kadri has done everything he can to have extraordinary value in the autonomy market. He had the season of his career, played through injury and won the Stanley Cup.
What more could he have done? Achieving autonomy at a time when NHL teams have actually money to spend on big players.
Several clubs cannot afford to put large millions of dollars on big players and have preferred to offer several small contracts to have more players under contract.
The Maple Leafs are a good example: they just gave away four years at $2.1 million per season for Calle Järnkrok.
???? We’ve signed forward Calle Järnkrok to a four-year contract.#LeafsForever
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 15, 2022
The contract of friend Johnny Gaudreau with the Blue Jackets is a good example. Few clubs were serious (Calgary, Columbus and New Jersey) on his case.
Nazem Kadri therefore does not have a perfect destination two days after the opening of the market. He will certainly have to make concessions somewhere in his contract, whether on the place, the amount per year, the duration of the contract or on his chances of winning.
A good example is described in this text from The Athletic. The most likely destinations to sign him each have a small flaw that could set the player back.
It starts with Colorado, which probably won’t be able to offer him a contract as expensive as its market value.
Nazem Kadri remains unsigned on Day 3 of free agency, and several teams that seemed like suitors have found other centers. So, who’s left?@Peter_Baugh looks at five potential destinations for the standout center, plus a few long shots.
???? https://t.co/DhXamRfGmi pic.twitter.com/jRSNnaDwGa
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) July 15, 2022
The Islanders don’t necessarily have enough money. The Flames is a team where he refused to be traded three years ago, even if it was possibly more to try to stay in Toronto. The Predators aren’t necessarily an NHL powerhouse and the Kraken really aren’t either.
You can add cities like Buffalo, Detroit, Anaheim and Ottawa to it, as The Athletic did, and you quickly see that he will have to decide to cut somewhere (city, quality of the team, annual amount or number of years) to sign.
At this point in the market, could he do what Taylor Hall did a few years ago and sign a one-year deal? Maybe, but at the same time, his value can only go down because he has just experienced the season of his career. Non?
The perfect solution does not seem to exist for him. He will really have to see where to cut.
A lot of
– Johnny Gaudreau really wanted to go to Philadelphia.
Ellis situation complicated things, if they don’t have him they need to find d-men. They decided they were better off filling other holes in their roster than spending all their cap on Gaudreau. Flyers feel Torts can make a difference, players will have fresh start under him.
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) July 15, 2022
– Obviously.
Arber Xhekaj’s brother signs with the Hamilton Bulldogs. https://t.co/JugfTVd7wD
– Andrew Zadarnowski (@AZadarski) July 15, 2022
– It’s expensive.
Friedman on 32TP says to move James van Riemsdyk the Flyers were being asked for a 2023 1st RD pick. They didn’t want to do it.
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) July 15, 2022
– My column of the day (hockey) at 91.9 Sports. [91.9 Sports]
– No, John Klingberg will not come to Montreal. Just because a journalist submitted the idea (not to mention the money, by the way…) doesn’t avant that the transaction market does not open that it is credible. [H&L]
– What will it give?
The Alouettes are proud of their catch, but will Laurent Duvernay-Tardif play? ???? https://t.co/c3oWY0KR5m
— TVA Sports (@TVASports) July 15, 2022