Kadri finally living up to the hype

One thing Naz has to improve is his eating habits. His body fat today is probably in the bottom 3 to 5 guys in our whole camp and that’s unacceptable.- Dallas Eakins, September 28, 2012

It wasn’t long ago that Nazem Kadri was hearing criticism from the Toronto Marlies head coach. Now Kadri has gone from being the source of constant criticism within the Leafs organization, to leading the Leafs in points.

“It wasn’t about pouting and looking for somewhere else to play,” said Kadri, who has 5 goals, 12 assists in 20 games this season. “It was fixing what they wanted me to fix. I’m ok with the tough love.”

That tough love has worked wonders. Kadri may still be the confident player he was when Toronto selected him 7^th overall in the 2009 draft, but he’s also growing up – he’s learning from his past mistakes - and the results are showing on the ice.

“My three years here I’ve definitely grown as a hockey player and as a person as well,” admitted the 22 year old Kadri. “It was tough on me for a little bit but now that I’m having some success and the team is having some success it is paying off.”

“He sometimes gets categorized like he’s 25 years old and time is running out,” said linemate Clarke MacArthur. “He’s just a young kid still and he’s played a couple of years pro and has learned how to be consistent with the Marlies and now he’s showing that here and he’s doing a great job.”

Kadri played the wing over the last couple of years, but a switch back to his natural centre position has paid off for him and the Leafs.

Playing on a line with Leo Komarov and Clarke MacArthur, Toronto has as good a third line as there is in the NHL.

He showed his slick passing skills against the Flyers Monday in which he picked up a pair of assists in helping Toronto win. Kadri is learning when he can- and can’t – do too much.

“Last couple of minutes in a period or in a game where you don’t really want to take a chance and make the safe and easy play and that’s what’s going to reward me with more ice time,” said Kadri who is a +7 while averaging just over 17 minutes of ice a game.

“When he makes plays to provide offence I don’t think you can take that away from a creative player,” said coach Randy Carlyle. “I think one thing about the maturity of a young player like Nazzy is where and when and how often you try the high risk high reward play.”

For Kadri it’s a constant struggle to earn respect. The Philadelphia Flyers Public Address announcer on Monday pronounced his first name Na-ZEEM. The Leafs centre knows the best way to rectify that is to keep putting points on the board.

“That’s what I figure I mean the more my name is said over the PA the more likely they are to get it right,” said Kadri.

Leafs trying to play a "Man's Game"

Randy Carlyle isn’t afraid to put his stamp on the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He has benched John-Michael Liles and Mike Komisarek.

He sent Jake Gardiner to the American Hockey League. He’s been playing rookie defencemen Mike Kostka and Mark Fraser big minutes.
He’s returned Nazem Kadri to centre, who has excelled on centering the 3^rd line.

It’s all part of Carlyle’s plan to turn the Leafs into a bigger, tougher and more competitive team in the hopes of returning the club to the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

“When you get into the Stanley Cup playoffs, it’s a war,” said the head coach. “It’s a man’s game.”

Carlyle has talked in recent days about about how much tougher playoff hockey is. How important it is to win the 1-on-1 battles in the post season. How the game is so different in the playoffs.

He did this a quarter of the way into the regular season.

Randy Carlyle is putting his stamp on his team.

“A lot of what we’re doing is paying attention to detail,” said forward Mike Brown. “We are not trying to do too much.”

There is more structure to the way the team plays. The defence doesn’t try to get too fancy when they have the puck in their own zone. Nothing puts a smile on Carlye’s face more than seeing a blueliner bank the puck off the glass to get it out of trouble, instead of trying to skate it out of the zone.

He has constantly juggled the lines in an effort to give each line some size and toughness.

Colton Orr played nearly 13 minutes on the 3^rd line Saturday with Kadri and Clarke MacArthur. Orr played nearly 10 minutes on Monday against Florida and again did little to hurt his team, while playing with an edge – fighting George Parros.

Yes, the same George Parros who knocked Orr out with a concussion more than 2 years ago.

“I thought he gave us what we needed,” said Carlyle after Saturday’s win over Ottawa, after Orr played in his 394^th NHL game receiving the 2^nd most ice-time ever in a single contest. “It’s amazing how things get quiet when he’s out there.”

“His presence is felt out there,” said Kadri.

“It’s nice to get rewarded when you work hard,” said Orr who is in the best shape of his hockey career.

This structure; this attitude; the toughness the team is displaying is all part of Carlyle’s plan: To not only get the team into the playoffs for the first time since 2004 but to be prepared for what playoff hockey is like.

Frazer McLaren scored his 1^st goal since November of 2009 in the Leafs win over Ottawa on Saturday. McLaren is the 6-foot-5, 230 pound McLaren who is the enforcer on the Leafs 4^th line.

His goal was – to put it nicely – an ugly one. He went to the front of the Ottawa net and the puck bounced off him.

“Go to the front of the net, funny things happen,” said Carlyle.

It was the kind of goal you see in the playoffs.

“If anyone remembers the first round of last year’s playoffs, it was a man’s game and I would expect it to be the same. The games are going to get tougher and the points are going to be a lot harder to get as we go deeper into the season.”

Carlyle is doing his best to get his team ready.

Leafs turning into a Brian Burke team

Brian Burke must be wondering where was all this toughness when he was GM.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are tied with Columbus for the league lead in fighting majors with 14.

“We require, as a team, proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone and belligerence.”

Brian Burke, November 2008

That was Burke’s famous quote when he took over the Leafs more than four years ago but it has been for the most part missing – until this year.

And while he may not be the General Manager let’s be honest here, these are Burke’s Leafs (19 of the 27 players who have played for the Leafs this season were brought on board by Burke.)

The Leafs are tied with Columbus for the league lead in fighting majors with 14.

That brand of rock ‘em, sock ‘em hockey was especially evident on Saturday in Montreal as the Leafs not only beat the Canadiens on the scoreboard but out-worked, out-hit, and out-fought the Habs at each and every opportunity.

Yes, the same Leafs that under Ron Wilson were more flash and dash have become under Randy Carlyle a team with attitude. A team with bite. A team that is showing signs of being tough to play against.

“I don’t know if you could describe us as bigger or tougher,” said Carlyle. “What we have talked about since last April is that we had to become more competitive in all three zones. And that’s been a mandate we put in front of our players and if they don’t want to be competitive than their chances of playing for our hockey club diminish.”

It doesn’t mean that Phil Kessel will be asked to fight. But the coach wants Kessel to back check and be aggressive on the forecheck.

“There are different variations of toughness,” said Carlyle.

With Colton Orr having improved his conditioning and skating this off season, he has been able to stick in the NHL this season. His presence makes every Leaf just a bit bigger.

Burke’s free agent signings this off season have paid off as well. Jay McClement brings a workman like approach to his game.

Defenceman Mark Kostka is at 27 getting a shot at the NHL. Another Burke free agent pick -up who has been a steadying influence on the blueline. He has shown he isn’t afraid to mix it up if necessary.

While defenceman Mark Fraser brings toughness and a ‘play it safe’ attitude to the defence corps. He was involved in a couple of fights against Montreal on Saturday.

Forward Leo Komarov is the kind of pest every team needs and has been a key factor on Toronto’s third line with Nazem Kadri and Matt Frattin.

It is becoming a team that is sticking up for each other. A team that isn’t going to be pushed around.

Of course Montreal isn’t a physical team like Boston but Saturday’s showing was a good positive step for the Leafs.

“Teams are going to try to push and we’re going to push back,” said Captain Dion Phaneuf.

Somewhere Brian Burke must be smiling. He may also be asking what took so long.

Reimer rounding into form - now the Leafs need to win at home

James Reimer came into the Maple Leafs season with plenty of questions surrounding his game.

Can he return to the form he demonstrated a couple of seasons ago? Is he over the concussion/neck injury? Was his rookie campaign a mirage or is he the real deal? Will he be part of a trade to bring Roberto Luongo to Toronto?

The answers so far: Yes he has returned to his rookie season form, and yes he is over his concussion/neck injury. It doesn't appear his rookie season was a fluke and Roberto who?

Reimer gets the call tonight against Carolina as he makes a 5th consecutive start for the Maple Leafs.

"I feel like I have battled hard and stayed with it and competed well," said Reimer who has a 2.47 GAA and a save percentage of .922, (10th best in the NHL). "Honestly it's our team. We have played well as a team. I don't think it really matters who is back there."

Actually James it does matter. If the Reimer from last season was in goal, the Leafs lose to Washington on Thursday instead of coming up with a win on Thursday.

If last season's Reimer faced the Bruins on Saturday, Boston wins 6-0, not 1-0.

A new goalie coach in Rick St Croix (replacing Francois Allaire), a commitment to defence and feeling good are reasons why Reimer has given his team a chance to win this season.

"I feel being healthy is maybe the biggest thing," said Reimer when asked why he has had such success. "My job is to give the guys as best a chance as possible to win."

That he has.

The Leafs will play 5 games in 8 days (including a stop to Winnipeg, not far from Reimer's home or Morweena, Manitoba). A busy stretch for the Leafs and Reimer.

It’s an important one too.

*
The Leafs have struggled at home so far - 1 and 3 at the Air Canada Centre.

Coach Randy Carlyle, does your team have to be better at home?

"No sh&t," said Carlyle, ahead of the home game against Carolina. "We've played some decent hockey here yet we've found ways not to compete to the level that was required in our building and all the things we've talked about day in and day out."

"It's imperative to have a (good) home record to qualify for the playoffs, it's as simple as that," said the coach. "That's the bottom line. It is something we are stressing."

Carlyle has been saying since the first day of training camp the importance of doing well at home - creating an identity.

Yes these Leafs work harder but not necessarily smarter than last year's bunch and Carlyle knows it.

The Leafs have scored 9 goals in 4 games at home.

"We have to be more determined in the offensive areas," said Carlyle. "In the cycle game at times we have shown we can do that but it's hard to cycle the puck if you don't get the puck in deep and retrieve it."

21 home games left for the Leafs - a team that is in the words of the head coach "a work in progress."

A work in progress, on the road and at home, especially it seems at home.

 

 

Leafs need to figure out Bruins

Last season the Toronto Maple Leafs failed to beat the Boston Bruins in 6 head-to-head games. They were outscored 36-10 during those games.

Say what you want about the rivalries with Ottawa and Montreal, but until the Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, all this talk about the playoffs won’t mean a thing.

“You never really forget with what happened last year,” said James Reimer. “We owe them.”

“We have lots of room for improvements in terms of records against several teams in the league. We just have to play a higher brand of hockey against everybody, and really that’s our message,” said Leafs coach Randy Carlyle. “We have to be prepared to go out and compete in all areas of the ice and win our share of one-on-one battles.”

“We’re a work in progress,” added Carlyle.

“We can’t lose every game to them again this year,” added Tyler Bozak.

Sounds simple doesn’t it. But the Bruins are a physical team that has made it difficult for the Leafs. When you consider Phil Kessel has scored just 3 goals and is a -18 in 18 career games against the Bruins, you know the task is a difficult one.

Kessel hasn’t scored a goal this season, the task gets that much tougher.

“I think Phil has been playing great,” said Reimer. “It’s the least of our worries right now. Phil is an elite player in this league and the goals will come for him.”

“It’s going to come,” said his linemate, Bozak. “Once he gets the first one they will come in bunches for him.”

The Leafs are coming off a win over Washington, a game Carlyle felt “from a work standpoint” it was the best game his team has played this season.

Look for forward Frazer McLaren – claimed off waivers from San Jose – to play tonight. He is a 6 – foot-5 forward who at 230 pounds is a physical player having picked up 85 penalty minutes and just 1 goal in 40 career NHL games.

“From our research people will be a little bit surprised about his skills,” said Carlyle. “We think he has more to offer than his physical presence.”

The Leafs hope he and his teammates will offer a bit more against the Bruins starting tonight.

The game also marks the Toronto debut of defenseman Dougie Hamilton, the final piece in the Phil Kessel trade.

Hamilton is a Toronto kid, who “grew up loving the Leafs” and said “it’s pretty cool” to be playing at the Air Canada Centre.

“He’s very down to earth,” said teammate Brad Marchand of the 19 year old Hamilton. “Normally when you get a guy that young with that much talent they have a bit of an attitude sometimes. He’s very respectful to the older guys. He’s excited to be here. He’s an incredible player on the ice. We’re lucky to have him.”

“It’s pretty impressive to say the least,” said coach Claude Julien. “We are impressed with his skating for a guy his size. The way he handles the pressure is a bit above and beyond what we expected early on his career.”

First Tyler Seguin. Now Dougie Hamilton as the Kessel trade seems to constantly hang over the Maple Leafs.

Of course a win – maybe a few wins – would help ease the pain for Leafs fans. A bit anyway.