Kadri Signed and Sealed

Much to the relief and delight of Maple Leafs fans, they will have their golden child at camp, which starts tomorrow, as Nazem Kadri has signed a "bridge" deal, which takes him out of his entry-level deal and gives him the chance to earn a long-term contract, which would likely take him into unrestricted free agency at a pretty penny.

Kadri signed a 2-year deal, worth $5.8 million, which works out to be a $2.9 million cap hit over the next two seasons, which could work out to be the best thing for both sides going into this season.

With the cap ceiling dropping significantly, the Leafs were being held over a barrel by Kadri, who was expecting to cash in on a big 2013 season, where the team was hoping to get him and Cody Franson signed on for the 2014 season at reasonable cost and move forward with the cap likely going up as the years move on.  With camp looming, the deal got done for Kadri and I would imagine that Franson should come fairly quickly thereafter.

In 2013, Kadri finished 33rd in pool scoring with 18 goals and 26 assists in all 48 games for Toronto, helping the team make the playoffs in years and cement himself in the team's top six for the foreseeable future.

Looking ahead, Kadri's scoring rate of 0.92 points per game in 2013 is lofty, in terms of repeating, especially with teams having a good look at the game film going into this season, so this could take a bit of a hit.  I think if you factor the expectation level and the media reminders of those expectations, this year could have a bit of a rocky start, but it could turn around quite quickly.

As of right now, I have Kadri coming in at a reasonable 60 points, but he certainly has the potential to exceed those expectations, but I don't think I will gamble too much on him right now.  I'm sure there is someone else prepared to waste a 1st or 2nd round pick on Kadri right now, where I don't think he should be and figure I could get someone actually worth the pick.

The Leafs are sitting in good shape against the cap, especially if they could rein in Franson into a reasonable deal, but he is already well out of his entry-level status and pay day is coming.  If the Leafs can tie Franson into a cap-friendly 1-year deal, they could be in great shape to fill in the rest of the necessary depth.