It may be too extreme to call the banter between restricted free agent Nazem Kadri and certain members of the Toronto media a “war”, but if it is characterized in that fashion, the 22-year-old center is losing the battle.
In the past, the young center has never been short on opinions and expressing his feelings, which reporters find refreshing compared to the innocuous player-speak they normally encounter, but Kadri’s responses to media reports of his contract demands are beginning to make him look childish.
The first volley occurred in late August, when Sportsnet FAN 590 reporter David Alter reported that the Leafs and Kadri were far apart on agreeing on a new deal:
To which Kadri replied “ur stories r so inaccurate it’s actually humorous #badcred”
Kadri then broke his self-imposed vow of silence regarding the negotiations at the club’s annual charity golf outing in Milton, ON on Tuesday.
“It just seems that everybody who doesn’t know the situation seems to know what’s best for me.” Kadri said.
The crosstalk continued Tuesday, but this time with TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, who reported nearly the same information that Alter stated in August. Kadri’s camp is looking for a long-term deal, the Leafs are looking for a bridge deal.
Kadri’s response……..”false Bobo”
In both instances, the reporters responded and asked Kadri to provide his side of the story. Kadri’s response was to delete the tweets.
While the exchanges with reporters via Twitter may just be an entertaining sideshow in the grand scheme of things, it undoubtedly makes Kadri look unreasonable in his contract demands, with only a good lockout-shortened season as a selling point.
The Leafs believe Kadri can be an excellent offensive player, but are more interested in a short term “bridge” deal of two or three years, that allows them more time to evaluate how good the 2009 first rounder can be.
“Nazem has a very fair offer and it’s not salary cap related, there is plenty of money there for both of them(Kadri and RFA blueliner Cody Franson).” Leafs Assistant GM Dave Poulin said on Tuesday “It’s representative of the body of work that he has done in his time here and were in a good situation moving forward from an overall money standpoint.”
While many have criticized Leafs GM Dave Nonis for leaving the club with slightly less than $5 Million in cap space to sign Kadri and Franson, it is very possible that it was done by design. If the Leafs had bought out John-Michael Liles in August or traded Nikolai Kulemin to open up cap space, Nonis would have no excuse to try to limit either player to a “bridge” deal, because they would have the available room under the cap to sign each to long term deals.
Kadri’s responses and reported contract demands have made the Leafs look the more reasonable of the two sides and a holdout ensues, the young center will likely feel just as much criticism and pressure as the club to get a deal done.
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