BOSTON — Nazem Kadri is familiar to people he ideally shouldn’t be familiar with: The NHL’s Department of Player Safety.
The 28-year-old, who has spent all 10 years of his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, has a pretty lengthy rap sheet. Boston Bruins fans will remember the three-game ban he was handed last postseason for boarding then-B’s forward Tommy Wingels, but the disciplinary history goes far beyond that.
In the Bruins’ 4-1 Game 2 win over the Leafs in their first round Stanley Cup Playoff series, Kadri was served a match penalty late in the game for cross-checking Jake DeBrusk. Both Kadri and DeBrusk had been going at it for much of the game, but Kadri’s cross-check was egregious and to the head. Not long after the game ended, Kadri was offered an in-person hearing with the DPS, and in-person hearings generally mean it’s something the league is taking very seriously.
In light of his upcoming hearing, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan listed each instance Kadri either had been fined or suspended by the league.
Being a repeat offender does impact suspensions, so the NHL probably won’t take Kadri’s cross-check lightly. Just how long they suspend him remains a mystery, but the Leafs may soon be without their third-line center.
