Montreal Canadiens looking for center, Calgary Flames too early to move Nazeem Kadri et al
TSN: Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dregue are on the hunt for No. 2 center with the Montreal Canadiens. If the Calgary Flames decide to trade Nazeem Kadri, then the Canadiens would be a good fit for Kadri. The Flames are struggling, but they’re not close to making that decision and are a long way from making any major moves.
** Transcribed by NHLRumors.com
Jeff O’Neal: “Pierre, I wanted to ask you about the Habs, there’s been talk about Nazeem Kadri, what are the Flames going to do with him? How are the Flames or the Habs going to acquire the center? I know there’s been talk about the player we just talked about in Sydney Crosby, if they can get him, that’s in this fantasy world.
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But do they want to do something for that person now, or just do something instead of waiting for something that may never come? “
LeBrun: “Well, (Jeff O’Neal), our Insider Trading segment. Darren Dreger has the latest on Nazem Kadri in that segment. But to answer your question, the first thing I’m going to tell you is (O’Neal), my understanding is, listen, they’ve gone through the league in their internal preparations and laid out a list of centers that could be available between now and next season. Obviously, the one that’s ahead of them is this year.
They were, you name a name and it was brought up internally by the Montreal Canadiens. Yes, Nazeem Qadri gave me one of the names. I think half the team would be interested in him if he played at some point later in the season because it’s still a need for them.
I would say the change in Montreal, obviously from the past few years now that they’ve got a guy like Kadri, I think it’s just me anyway, one of the teams that looks at them in a different light now. They used to be a team that wasn’t a true contender when they were rebuilding and a lot of people would have given up, and now I think they’re getting into a world where they’re going to be a team that a guy like Kadri is willing to go to at some point.
Maybe it wasn’t him, maybe it was another player, but that’s how I felt about that player. “
Brian Hayes: “Dreg’s, Calgary in town. They’re not, they’re not off to a good start.”
Dreger: “It’s too bad. They always have been like that. That’s the main reason for all the speculation surrounding Nazem Kadri, right? Part of it is that the Canadian market could see the right fit for Nazem Kadri, and at the top of the list are the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks.”
Back in Toronto, long shot, but you can see it, right? You can imagine the interest. Brad Treleving has expressed this interest in the past and he will do so again.
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But that’s because the Flames performed well below expectations. I mean, they should probably be close to .500 or a .500 team right now, but they’re not. But they’re a long way from getting close to Nazeem Kadri and saying, “Hey, we’re all fighting for McKenna, the ship is turning here.” We can’t do that to a guy like you, Rasmus Andersen. Maybe (MacKenzie) Wiig. Things get more complicated for Jonathan Huberdeau, but there’s still a long way to go.
That’s still a long way off, and likely closer to the trade deadline. There was also a Canadian owner, Murray Edwards, who wasn’t very good at the tanking game. Too expensive. At the end of the day, you have to stay competitive. “
O’Neal: “How expensive are tank games?”
Dreger: “Fans don’t want to come to games. They don’t want to come into your building. They don’t want to buy tickets. You look at Detroit and it’s been rebuilt for nine, 10 years?”
Hayes: “Buffalo too. How about Buffalo?”
Dreeger: “You know, the team just doesn’t want to go through this. So I understand the speculation. We’re all a part of it. That’s what we do. It’s a long way from knowing whether Nazem Kadri is legal to play.”
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