Could Maple Leafs' GM Treliving reel in Nazem Kadri this summer?

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Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving will spend his summer on a fishing trip, casting his trade net across the National Hockey League.

Could he land a centre who would need absolutely no introduction to Leafs Nation?

That would be the Calgary Flames’ Nazem Kadri, who has four years remaining on his contract with an average annual value of $7 million US.

We’re not suggesting anything is imminent trade-wise between the Leafs and Flames.

An NHL source said on Wednesday, however, that Kadri would not let his no-move clause stand in the way of agreeing to a trade to Toronto.

At the same time, it was stressed to us that Kadri enjoys playing in Calgary and is not looking to be moved. He hasn’t been asked to waive his no-move, either.

The Leafs haven’t had a centre of Kadri’s ilk — an emotional producer on offence who plays with a nasty edge — since they traded him to the Colorado Avalanche on July 1, 2019.

Suspensions during his time with the Leafs, especially those that came during the 2018 and 2019 playoffs, paved Kadri’s way out of Toronto. In the years since, Kadri was suspended for eight games in the 2021 playoffs for a hit on Justin Faulk of the St. Louis Blues, though, he has not run afoul of the NHL law since then.

In 2022, Kadri had 15 points in 16 games as the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup.

You don’t need to go far to draw a line that connects Treliving and Kadri, the Leafs’ first-round pick in 2009. Before he was sent to the Avs six years ago, Treliving, then the GM in Calgary, had a trade done with Kyle Dubas to acquire Kadri. But Kadri invoked his no-trade clause and it didn’t happen.

Treliving bided his time and, in August 2022, he signed Kadri to the seven-year, $49-million US contract that is in place now.

Treliving’s interest in Kadri, who turns 35 in October, has never waned.

One obstacle that could stop Treliving from making a trade of significance — whether it’s for Kadri or another player — is his lack of assets. The Leafs not only don’t have a first-round pick in each of the next two years, they don’t have a bushel of prospects to potentially include in trades.

Any one of Max Domi, Calle Jarnkrok, David Kampf or Nick Robertson could be dangled, but why would the Flames, who struggle to score goals, give up Kadri in a deal where something of solid substance is not part of the return?

Kadri hasn’t missed a game with Calgary, playing in all 82 in each of the past three seasons and averaging 66 points. While Kadri has done his part — he scored a career-high 35 goals last season — the Flames have not earned a berth in the playoffs during his time with the team.

For the Leafs, the DNA change that Treliving wants hasn’t yet happened, despite the additions of Nicolas Roy, Matias Maccelli and Michael Pezzetta.

The club would have loved to have signed Brad Marchand, but that chance didn’t materialize when the feisty winger re-signed with the Florida Panthers.

Kadri, with his Cup ring and pedigree in tow, would represent an altered DNA for the Leafs.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

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