The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that forward Nazem Kadri and defenceman Keith Aulie have been sent to the American Hockey League affiliate Toronto Marlies in order to make room on the roster as forward Colby Armstrong and defenceman John-Micheal Liles rerturn to the lineup for the second game of a back to back with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Last night was one of the best games of the year as Pittsburgh battles hard from a 4-1 deficit to force overtime with Fluery pulled and less than a minute on the clock in a game Toronto should have dominated but a superb effort in the third saw Pittsburgh force overtime and later a shootout.
Kadri was the second shooter for Toronto as he skated out with his team allowing a goal on the previous Penguins attempt. The pressure was on Kadri but he was unable to beat a solid Marc-Andre Fleury and the third shooter Phil Kessel also failed to score going wide of the net with a backhand that sent the Pittsburgh crowd abuzz as they watched their Penguins steal a game that many though was over.
It was an attempt that may well haunt Kadri as he now finds himself demoted to AHL. He played very well and made the most of this opportunity and it's not a stretch to say his next call up will be his last as Nazem has greatly improved his game and is no longer considered a liability because of flashy moves leading to turnovers.
With the trade deadline comes speculation and the wheels are spinning as rumours swirl that Toronto is pursuing big centerman Ryan Getzlaf of the Ducks and Columbus' Jeff Carter. Many believe both deals are within grasp but any deal likely sees the Leafs overpaying from a position of strength which is Torontos defense core. Blacker, Komisarek, Aulie and the big fish of the group budding shut down defenceman Luke Schenn.
Whether the Leafs are able to hash out a deal remains to be seen but GM Brian Burke has a love for the flashy move and has shown before he will pull the trigger on a deal if it makes his team better.
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