Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis believes Nazem Kadri has what it takes to become a tried and true No. 1 centre, but that doesn’t mean the restricted free agent will earn that type of money on his next contract.
Training camp for the 2013-14 NHL season is set to begin next week, but the London, Ont., native is coming off his entry-level contract and is currently negotiating a new deal with the Leafs.
Kadri, 22, is coming off a breakout year in his first full season in the NHL, registering 18 goals, 44 points and a plus-15 rating in 48 regular season contests. He also added four points in seven playoff games.
“If Naz can become the player that we think he can be and that he thinks he can be then he’s going to be a very wealthy man, but his body of work is pretty small,” Nonis told Brady and Lang on Sportsnet 590 The Fan Thursday.
“He has had flashes of being a very good player and (Leafs head coach) Randy (Carlyle) has done a good job of putting him in situations where he’s been able to have success, but we need to see him over a couple-year period to see if he can be a consistent player.
“If he can elevate his game so he’s a guy you can say is a No. 1 centre and if he does those things, which we believe he can do, then he could be a guy you could definitely put a long-term tag on.”
Kadri’s cap hit last season was $1.72 million and he is expected to get a raise.
Nonis compared Kadri’s situation to the likes of Montreal Canadiens star P.K. Subban, New York Rangers blue-liner Michael del Zotto and San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture.
Subban, del Zotto and Couture found success early in their NHL careers, like Kadri has, but they signed short-term deals following the expiration of their entry-level contracts.
Couture signed a two-year, $5.75-million extension in 2012 before inking a new five-year, $30-million extension earlier this off-season; del Zotto is entering the final year of a two-year, $5.1-million deal and is expected to get a big raise and longer term on his next contract.
Same goes for Subban, who is in for a big payday after winning the Norris Trophy in the first year of a two-year, $5.75-million deal he signed earlier this year.
“Those players chose to prove their worth and I think they’re going to be wealthier because of it,” Nonis added.
Kadri recently said that he doesn’t want to miss the start of training camp, but would “if that’s what it takes.”
Leafs star sniper Phil Kessel is entering the final year of his deal and is set to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2013-14 campaign.
Kessel has expressed that he doesn’t want to negotiate during the season to avoid distraction, and although that worries some Leafs fans it doesn’t worry Nonis.
“Tyler Bozak didn’t talk during the season and he was a player that wanted to play in Toronto,” Nonis said. “If a player wants to play in the city that he’s playing in currently he can usually find a way of getting a deal done. The contract negotiations for a player like Phil, if they take place at all, shouldn’t take that long.
“If Phil decides he wants to wait to the end of the year and we’re having a great year with him and we’re not getting offers that made sense for a player like Phil you wouldn’t trade him. You’d see if you could have the organization go as far as it could and try and take your chances in the summer.
“We haven’t explored any of those (options) yet; those are far off. I’m a big Phil Kessel fan; I think he’s a much better two-way player than people give him credit for. … It’s definitely not a case where there’s conflict between management and player. We’re both happy with each other.”
In other Leafs news:
— Restricted free agent defenceman Cody Franson is also without a new deal, but the team is working to resolve the situation.
“We’ve made Cody an offer,” Nonis said. “We’ve talked to his agent over the last couple days and we’ll continue to do that as we get closer to camp.”
— Nonis said he thinks goaltenders James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier will both see a lot of action in the upcoming season, though he hopes one of them takes control of the situation so there’s not an ongoing goalie controversy.
— Morgan Reilly, the fifth-overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, could earn a spot on the Leafs’ blue line, but Nonis added that he will play wherever he can develop the most.
— Nonis expects Jake Gardiner to log a lot of minutes and build off the momentum he gained in the playoffs against the Boston Bruins.
