Hi this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire “, brought to you by Auto Logic…..the Logical Choice !
Has anyone ever been tossed under the bus faster or farther than Nazim Kadri was by Brendan Shanahan & the Toronto Maple Leafs ?
The Leafs banished their former first rounder as a result of being late for a team meeting last Sunday, making him a healthy scratch for the next three games, and making the announcement with a public proclamation.
I fully understand the intent here.
Any team, winners or losers like the Leafs, have codes of conduct that must be adhered to- being on time is one of the biggest.
But to me, this smells more like scapegoating than enforcing discipline.
Kadri isn’t the first player to be late. Denis Potvin of the Islanders MISSED a game in the mid 70’s, simply because he slept through his alarm and missed a trip to Philadelphia.
I recall no such public denouncement by Bill Torrey
Furthermore, if, as suggested, this move is designed to upgrade Kadri’s behaviour and make him a more responsible citizen, where was the discipline when Captain Phaneuf & star Kessel snubbed Leaf Nation in a post game ?
And finally, while being late is an unprofessional act, I’d think the Leafs have far bigger issues.
Shanahan & the Leafs gassed coach Randy Carlyle’s assistants prior to the season, inserting two hand picked newcomers to ” assist ” Carlyle, who was essentially a dead man walking at that moment.
In early January, Shanahan and the Leafs fired Carlyle and elevated one assistant to head coach & promptly won 6 of their next 30 games.
If I owned the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nazim Kadri wouldn’t be the first guy I’d send home.
I’m Fred Wallace