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Big Read: Mike Babcock will turn Nazem Kadri into a star

Now that Rogers owns both the Leafs and the Blue Jays we are going to see puff pieces like this all the time.  Kadri is not a star.  Right now he's playing the best hockey of his career and he's a 0.5PPG player.  So yes, improvement is nice, but let's not kid ourselves.  This kid is never going to be another Sundin.  Sure he would do better with better players around him but I'm still not a huge fan of his even after his whole Renaissance under Babcock.  Actually I might even trade him before the deadline.  Who knows what his contract demands are going to be.  I think the entire old guard of the Leafs needs to be completely dismantled.  I don't think anyone should be safe.
 
sickbeast said:
Now that Rogers owns both the Leafs and the Blue Jays we are going to see puff pieces like this all the time.  Kadri is not a star.  Right now he's playing the best hockey of his career and he's a 0.5PPG player.  So yes, improvement is nice, but let's not kid ourselves.  This kid is never going to be another Sundin.  Sure he would do better with better players around him but I'm still not a huge fan of his even after his whole Renaissance under Babcock.  Actually I might even trade him before the deadline.  Who knows what his contract demands are going to be.  I think the entire old guard of the Leafs needs to be completely dismantled.  I don't think anyone should be safe.
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No he will never be a Sundin. Not many players will reach that status. What player past or present would he best be compared to though I wonder?
 
Kadri was never expected to be Sundin; most of the top picks from the past 10 years of drafts won't even come near to Sundin's career (Crosby, maybe Toews, maybe McDavid). If that was the expectation for Kadri, then you've been set up for disappointment from the get go.
 
herman said:
Kadri was never expected to be Sundin; most of the top picks from the past 10 years of drafts won't even come near to Sundin's career (Crosby, maybe Toews, maybe McDavid). If that was the expectation for Kadri, then you've been set up for disappointment from the get go.
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I guess we have different definitions of what a "star" is then.  Sundin was a star.  Crosby is a star.  Please name me some 0.5PPG players that are stars.  I can't think of too many.  Like I said, this was a puff piece by Sportsnet.  They do this all the time.  Usually it has been Shi Davidi about the Blue Jays.  Now they have moved on to the Leafs.

I'm not saying that Kadri sucks.  I'm saying that he's not a star and in any other market he would not get nearly as much attention.  Heck, if the Leafs had some better forwards he wouldn't be getting all this attention either.
 
I wouldn't call it a puff piece but by the same token there is a conflict of interest.

I guess if you define a star as any forward who gets 20/50 seasons then yeah, he could be a star. In my mind he's become a very good player on both sides of the puck but he's not going to be an elite level guy.
 
sickbeast said:
herman said:
Kadri was never expected to be Sundin; most of the top picks from the past 10 years of drafts won't even come near to Sundin's career (Crosby, maybe Toews, maybe McDavid). If that was the expectation for Kadri, then you've been set up for disappointment from the get go.
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I guess we have different definitions of what a "star" is then.  Sundin was a star.  Crosby is a star.  Please name me some 0.5PPG players that are stars.  I can't think of too many.  Like I said, this was a puff piece by Sportsnet.  They do this all the time.  Usually it has been Shi Davidi about the Blue Jays.  Now they have moved on to the Leafs.

I'm not saying that Kadri sucks.  I'm saying that he's not a star and in any other market he would not get nearly as much attention.  Heck, if they Leafs had some better forwards he wouldn't be getting all this attention either.
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The title says will turn him into one.

In any other market none of the players on the Leafs would get as much attention.  Sundin wouldn't have received as much attention in Florida as he did in Toronto.
 
I don't mind it because I'm a fan of the team but I always have it in the back of my mind that Rogers owns Sportsnet, the Leafs, and the Jays.  I find TSN far more objective about the Jays and they often report on stuff that Sportsnet completely ignores because it makes the organization look bad.
 
RedLeaf said:
No he will never be a Sundin. Not many players will reach that status. What player past or present would he best be compared to though I wonder?
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I'd guess at Plekanec being a reasonable comparable if Kadri keeps improving.
 
Significantly Insignificant said:
Would Steen be a comparable?
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Possibly but Steen turned out to be a much better player than the Leafs had ever anticipated.  Really his breakout season came out of nowhere.  I don't know if it was coaching or what that helped him become such a good player, but I would say that yes, Steen became a "star", albeit just barely IMO.

Could Kadri break out like that?  I guess it's possible.
 
Steen didn't come out of nowhere. Anyone who watched him as a leaf could see that he was going to work a solid contributor. The Steen trade is right up there with the rask trade.
 
Joe S. said:
Steen didn't come out of nowhere. Anyone who watched him as a leaf could see that he was going to work a solid contributor. The Steen trade is right up there with the rask trade.
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Yeah. People may not have expected a 30 goal season from him, but becoming a reliable, two-way 60 point guy? That's basically what he was described as becoming when he was drafted.
 
This is what I mean about this forum. Steen might have been projected to be a 60 point guy when he was drafted but that is by no means what happened to him when he was a leaf. Not even close. His 33 goal season came out of nowhere and put him in line with the league's elite players. So please cut the bullshit about disagreeing with me just sold you can think you're right.
 
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