Former NHL star Jeremy Roenick joined Brady & Walker on Thursday morning to discuss a number of topics from around the NHL, including the surging Toronto Maple Leafs and the play of Nazem Kadri.
The Maple Leafs have gone 10-1-1 since suffering an embarrassing 9-2 loss to the Nashville Predators on Nov. 18.
Roenick cited the Leafs’ team speed as a big reason why they’re flying so high at the moment.
“Really good speed team, that’s why I think they’re scoring a lot of goals. Their speed is pretty tough to control,” Roenick told Brady & Walker.
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As for whether the Leafs’ hot play will continue, Roenick counts himself as one who hopes so.
“I’d like to see the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs,” he said. “An Original Six team that I’ve enjoyed playing against and watching. I think it’s good for the league.”
The discussion turned to Kadri, who has 11 points in his last 10 games. Roenick sees him as a vital part of the Maple Leafs’ recent success.
“Watching Kadri play lately has really impressed me,” Roenick said. “You get a little bit more scoring to help [Phil] Kessel and [James] van Riemsdyk.”
LISTEN: Jeremy Roenick on Brady & Walker
Kadri has nine goals and 20 points to go along with a plus/minus rating of plus-9 through 31 games. He’s drawing praise for his play in all three zones, not just for his ability to score highlight-reel goals.
Suddenly comparisons to top picks of his 2009 draft class like John Tavares and Matt Duchene don’t seem so farfetched.
Roenick believes Kadri’s linemate, Daniel Winnik, has played a role in his rise toward stardom.
“Daniel Winnik is very good friend of mine, and he’s going to make you accountable for how you’re playing. He’s going to back you up when you make mistakes. That’s a perfect kind of mentality for a kid like Kadri,” Roenick said. “I hope [Kadri] keeps going because he’s exciting to watch.”
The biggest question surrounding Kadri now is how much to pay him. He’s set to become a restricted free agent at the end of this season, and there is talk that he could command a salary in the range of $5 million to $6 million per season.
Roenick noted old rumours that Kadri wasn’t hard worker, which is a label you just can’t wear in a market like Toronto.
“It’s a different mentality for the players these days,” said Roenick. “I’ve always said I don’t believe that the players are as tough or as mentally tough nowadays as they were 20 years ago. I say that because 20 years ago we had to work every night for our salaries. We had to bang it out year after year to get the big money. Nowadays these kids are getting big money fast. It’s easy to take nights off. It’s easy to let that little injury become a big injury and stay out 10 days instead of four days and get paid lots of money.”
Taking nights off is a luxury Kadri can’t afford.
“Now Kadri is up in a place where there is a lot of media attention and a lot of eyes on him. He’s not going to be able to escape. It’s putting points up and doing things defensively. You’re going to have to do it night in, night out, or you’re not going to get paid the big money,” he said. “You’re not going to have an Alexander Semin and have one big year, get a big contract and then never see him again. You can’t do that in Toronto.”
