There is no easy way to say this: The people who have ran the Maple Leafs have collectively sucked at their jobs for the last 30 years. Look at the youth they moved that blossomed elsewhere: Kenny Johnson, Brad Boyes, Alexander Steen, Luke Schenn, Tuukka Rask and the draft picks that became Scott Niedermayer, Tyler Seguin, Dougie Hamilton, Mark Stuart, Lars Eller, Logan Couture etc. etc. etc.
Now, I like some of the work that Quinn, Burke, Ferguson, Nonis and Fletcher have done, but as a whole, they have bailed on youth too early and tried for short term success too often. It’s only made worse by the fact that the success has always eluded the franchise, but it would be foolish to say it wasn’t warranted in some cases.
For instance, you could easily make a case for acquiring Owen Nolan, and in the case of Luke Schenn, the return was a steal. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that for going on 40 years, the Leafs, as a franchise, have failed to develop young players and that, despite a few things working out, this strategy has been hugely detrimental.
In the interest of presenting a nuanced argument, it should be noted that I do not buy into a “build through the draft” philosophy. I think drafting well is important, but ultimately there is no universal formula for building a team, and the Leafs currently have a bunch of high draft picks – mostly other team’s – on the roster. The key is to build smart and it doesn’t really matter how you do it, you just can’t bail on young players. Especially when the salary cap has created a system that plays payers for past performance and thus a young player is doubly valuable because his cap hit is usually not an issue.
So this is not me saying to tear it down and build through the draft. Quite the opposite, actually. The Leafs currently have a young roster with a hell of a lot of potential. They have an all-world player in Phil Kessel and Bernier might just be the elite goalie they have longed for since Ed Belfour left town. I like this team. A lot.
There is, however, a notion going around that the Leafs should suddenly abandon their current plan and make some trades to improve. Now, I am all for improving the team, but I believe that a lot of that improvement can come internally and that the rest of it can be done with smart trading that doesn’t include giving up the two players most often mentioned as trade bait.
I refer of course to Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner and I submit to you that trading either of these two players would be an error of colossal proportions.
Both are young and relatively cheap and both have potential that far outweighs what their current play would net in a return. It is a terrible idea to move either player.
Despite what “coach” Randy Carlyle says about Gardiner, he happens to be one of the best drivers for possession that the Leafs have on their team and there are advanced stats that suggest he makes all the players he plays with better.
I think blaming him for his mistakes is a joke. It isn’t his fault the Leafs dressed 5 or 6 offensive defenseman every night. In my opinion, the Leafs should look to dress three offensive defenseman – Rielly, Gardiner and Phaneuf – and do what they can to acquire 3 more defenseman who are tough, hard to play against and defensively competent.
Jake Gardiner is one of the best skaters in the NHL and trading him would be a terrible idea.
As for Kadri, despite popular opinion, he had a very successful season. You can’t teach the kind of things he can do with the puck and if given the proper linemates, I think he can be the point-per-game player it was hoped he would become. Also, his drop in points from nearly a PPG last year to just 50 this year is not as bad as it seems on first glance. Keep in mind he played some very protected minutes against some weak players last season. This year, playing more against other teams top defensive players, he took an acceptable and understandable hit in production. The thing is, he is only going to get better. Convert him to a winger if you have to, but do not, under any circumstances, trade him.
The Leafs need to learn from history. They can no longer afford to trade great young potential in exchange for current quality. The fact is, the Leafs are unlikely to be a Cup contending team next year no matter what, so patience is of the essence.
How the Leafs proceed with these two players will go a long way in determining if Brendan Shanahan actually has new ideas of if he is just more of the same.
Author information
The post Stay the Course: Kadri, Gardiner Must Be Retained appeared first on Maple Leafs Central.