Leafs’ Kadri offers advice to Flames’ Tkachuk
Leafs forward Kadri says now is the time for Flames’ Tkachuk to change his ways
Nazem Kadri offered some free, yet sound, advice for Matt Tkachuk: “Wake up.”
The Toronto Maple Leafs centre knows of what he speaks when the issue is on-ice discipline — or lack of it — and specifically, what the young Calgary Flames forward is experiencing.
Kadri lived it, has matured and has come out the other side a better player.
“I went through the same thing, so I understand what he’s going through,” Kadri said after the Leafs practised on Friday at the MasterCard Centre.
“There comes a time where you just have to mature. You can still play on the edge and play on that fine line, but you can’t be stupid, and that was just stupid.
“I have done some stupid things in my career and looking back on it you wish you could take it back, but at the end of the day he’s a young kid and he will figure it out.”
The stupid thing done by the 19-year-old Tkachuk was the spear on Leafs forward Matt Martin during the game between Toronto and Calgary on Wednesday night. It had no bearing on the outcome — though that doesn’t matter — and Martin was unaware of the spear. Tkachuk’s penalty was a one-game suspension levied by the National Hockey League, causing him to miss the Flames’ game in Montreal on Thursday night.
Tkachuk already has been suspended three times by the NHL. It’s the same number Kadri has been suspended by the league for a total of 11 games; Kadri’s most recent suspension was in April 2016, when he cross-checked Detroit’s Luke Glendening and sat for four games.
Kadri had another least favourite incident, if you will.
“The one in Edmonton (in March 2015 when he checked the Oilers’ Matt Fraser in the head and received a four-game suspension) was probably the stupidest thing I have ever done,” Kadri said.
“I was committed to the hit and I think I could have got out of the way. That one I regret and sincerely wish I could have taken back. When it happens, you have to deal with the consequence and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Does Kadri, now 27 years old, think he has those kinds of transgressions out of his system?
“I’m able to figure it out,” Kadri said. “I’m smart enough to understand when guys are vulnerable and when it’s a good hit and when it’s a dirty hit. I’m not trying to hit guys dirty, I’m not trying to end any careers, I’m not trying to give anybody concussions or put anybody out for an extended period of time. I just want to play hard and having the experience helps you (make the adjustment).”
Now, with the guidance of Leafs coach Mike Babcock, Kadri can be depended upon to play against any of the opposition’s top players, do it well, and stay on the right side of the NHL law.
Whether Kadri plays against Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night or Connor McDavid on Sunday night, he has the full trust of his coach.
For Babcock, Kadri’s maturation has come from a fairly clear starting point.
“Good players have to play every night,” Babcock said. “I think you’re allowed to do whatever you have to do to do your job to the best of your ability, but I think you have to put the team first every time.
“Any time you put yourself first, it usually goes bad, no matter what you do.”
And let’s take into account that Kadri’s lighter wallet has had some input. In total, Kadri has paid the league about US$400,000 through suspensions and fines.
“So much, it’s disgusting,” Kadri said. “It makes me sick.
“But that’s what happens. I’m man enough to admit my mistakes and that was the consequence I had to go through. Whether sitting games or paying fines, I did it and it’s done.
“I’m not arguing with what I get paid ($5 million in salary this season). I make a pretty good living. Stop doing stupid (stuff ), that’s all. That’s the bottom line.”
Quite the weekend for the Maple Leafs as they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins and then play host to the Edmonton Oilers. Auston Matthews is ready. “It’s fun and it always presents a pretty good challenge, especially when you face two players of their calibre (Crosby and McDavid on back-to-back nights),” Matthews said. “You have to make sure you’re ready because those guys will make you pay.”
The Leafs on Saturday should have defenceman Morgan Rielly, who missed practice on Friday with “stiffness,” coach Mike Babcock said.
And never mind Crosby, there’s former Leaf Phil Kessel, who leads Pittsburgh in scoring with 35 points in 30 games, and Evgeni Malkin, who is third in team scoring and has 54 points in 32 career games against Toronto.
You can still play on the edge and play on that fine line, but you can’t be stupid, and that was just stupid.
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