Nazem Kadri has had trouble staying on the ice in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but his new team has a simple solution.
The Toronto Maple Leafs traded Kadri, Calle Rosen and a 2020 third-round draft pick to the Colorado Avalanche for Tyson Barrie, Alexander Kerfoot and a 2020 sixth-round pick. Kadri was a useful player for Toronto as a second or third-line center, but his lengthy playoff suspensions in each of the last two seasons -- both in the first round against the Boston Bruins -- hurt the Leafs' chances of a deep run.
Avalanche executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic recently was asked about preventing further postseason suspensions from Kadri, and his answer was fantastic.
Zing!
The chances of the Avalanche and Bruins facing each other in the playoffs -- it would have to be a Stanley Cup Final matchup -- are slim, even though both teams are coming off impressive 2018-19 seasons. So, while the Leafs were unable to maximize Kadri's playoff production because of his dirty play, the Avs shouldn't have the same issues over in the Western Conference.
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