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Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri will have a hearing Friday for boarding/charging Boston Bruins forward Tommy Wingels Thursday night in Game 1 of the Leafs-Bruins first-round playoff series, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced.
The 27-year-old was not at practice on Friday, and Leafs head coach Mike Babcock used the opportunity to shake up his lines. Leo Komarov moved up to the top line with Auston Matthews and William Nylander, while Zach Hyman, who scored the team's lone goal in Game 1, formed a line with winger-turned-centre Patrick Marleau and Mitch Marner. Andreas Johnsson, who was healthy scratch in Game 1 was added to the fourth line, replacing Komarov:
Komarov-Matthews-Nylander
Hyman-Marleau-Marner
van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Brown
Johnsson-Plekanec-Kapanen
Johnsson, who joined the team in March after spending most of the year in the AHL, took Kadri's place on the team's top power play unit. Johnsson worked with Morgan Rielly, Tyler Bozak, Mitch Marner and James van Riemsdyk. Jake Gardiner, Auston Matthews, Leo Komarov, William Nylander and Patrick Marleau formed the second group.
Kadri took exception to an elbow to teammate Mitch Marner from Wingels in the third period and replied by taking a run at the Bruins forward after he tumbled to the ice, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct in the process.
"I just felt like he made contact with Mitchy's head to start, and I didn't see a call there," Kadri said postgame. "He was turning up the wall so I was committed to the hit, and then he ended up falling. It happened pretty quick. It's in the hands of the NHL."
Kadri said he believes it would have been a clean hit if Wingels had not fallen to the ice.
"It's out of my control at this point. I certainly wasn't trying to hit him when he was down like that. I was already committed to the hit. If he's still standing up, there's nothing wrong with that."
According to TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, Kadri isn't technically a repeat offender -- a penalty that applies to players suspended within the last 18 months -- because he was last suspended two years ago, but "repeat offender" status means the loss of wages is calculated differently than non-repeat offenders and since players don't get paid in the playoffs, the distinction doesn't mean much now. Kadri's previous suspensions can still be used against him when determining any potential punishment for the Leafs' forward. McKenzie also notes that playoff and regular season games are not treated equally for suspension purposes.
Kadri was suspended four games for cross-checking Luke Glendening in 2016, four games for a hit to the head on Matt Fraser in March of 2015 and three games for running goaltender Niklas Backstrom in November of 2013.
The Maple Leafs ultimately lost Thursday's game 5-1. Game 2 goes Saturday evening in Boston.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a decision to make.
Centre Nazem Kadri is facing a suspension for his Game 1 hit on Boston Bruins forward Tommy Wingels, leaving the Leafs with a massive hole in their lineup as they try to even their first-round series on the road.
Here’s a look at a few of their options to replace their two-way centre.
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Coach Mike Babcock trusts him, having used Marleau down the middle for stretches during the season, and the Leafs appear to be going this route, judging by Friday’s line rushes at practice. If faceoffs are your jam, the 38-year-old has a 51.4 per cent win rate for his career. Babcock is fond of Marleau’s defensive awareness, and going with the veteran on the road could give the Leafs bench boss peace of mind while not having the last change.
Moving Marleau opens a lineup spot for Andreas Johnsson, who showed well in a nine-game stint to close the regular season. The Leafs seem set on putting Johnson on their fourth line, alongside Kasperi Kapanen and Tomas Plekanec. Leo Komarov looks to have been promoted to the Auston Matthews line.
This is how Toronto practised on Friday.
Going with Marleau down the middle is a seemingly safe option, but if Babcock wanted to there is another winger who could be moved over.
Nylander is another player who has spent time at centre this season, and is slick and skilled enough to carry a line on his own. While Leafs brain trust might be hesitant to break up the Matthews-Nylander duo, splitting the two could actually give the Bruins something to think about with the matchup game. Boston went hard with the Patrice Bergeron line against the Matthews unit to great success in Game 1, and Nylander could quite possibly provide a spark elsewhere down the lineup.
Going this way would be bold, and you wonder if Babcock trusts his 21-year-old with the burden of centring his own line at this point in the season.
“I think there’s a little bit more comfort there from Mike Babcock with Marleau being a veteran guy,” Chris Johnston told the Jeff Blair show Friday, suggesting that a Nylander move would be unlikely, at least on the road.
Dominic Moore, moving Tomas Plekanec up the lineup
By bringing in Moore the Leafs would ensure a lineup with four natural centres, and Plekanec has played in a top-six role for much of his career.
Moore only played in 50 games during the regular season, and chipped in with six goals with limited ice time while winning 54.3 per cent of his faceoffs. He hasn’t quite ever been able to earn Babcock’s trust, however, leading to the Plekanec acquisition in the first place. Plekanec himself hasn’t looked thoroughly impressive as a Leaf, with two assists in 18 games since coming over from Montreal.
Bring in the muscle
While Kadri’s two-way play will be missed most, you could argue that without him the Leafs won’t really have a physical presence anywhere in their forward group, save for Komarov. Enter Matt Martin.
The enforcer hasn’t played much lately (having made just three appearances since Jan. 23), but if the Leafs are looking to get more physicality into the lineup, he’d be the guy to get the call.
This would likely involve moving one of Marleau or Nylander to centre, and bumping Kapanen into a top-nine role. A very unlikely scenario, but … worth mentioning.
What would you do if you were Babcock? Have your say below.
BOSTON — Nazem Kadri waited a long time for the playoffs to start, but now he might have to sit Game 2.
The Maple Leafs are awaiting word if the National Hockey League will take a second look at the major penalty assessed Kadri on Thursday for charging Tommy Wingels, resulting in a game misconduct.
Kadri was trying to get back at Wingels for what he saw as a hard elbow to teammate Mitch Marner.
Nazem Kadri back to the penalty box for this hit on Tommy Wingels. This one is definitely bad, possibly even supplemental bad. pic.twitter.com/tZ3HI1SBNY — Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) April 13, 2018
“Initially, I just felt like he made contact with Mitchy’s head,” Kadri said. “I didn’t see a call, he was turning up the wall and I was committed to the hit. He ended up falling, he was reaching for the puck. It happened pretty quick. I haven’t watched it yet, but I didn’t stick my leg or arm out.”
But his rear end did squash the Bruin’s head into the boards and both Wingels and Marner were down for a couple of minutes.
As to whether he thinks he’ll get a call from the Department of Player Safety, who’ve been after him in prior years, Kadri was unsure.
“I don’t think I can rap myself too much. It’s out of my control,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to hit him when he was down. If he’s still standing up, there’s nothing wrong with it, but he ended up falling. It’s in the hands of the league.”
lhornby@postmedia.com
