Capped takes a look at the six-year contracts of Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly. 

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The NHL playoffs are underway, and the chase for the Cup has begun. For those who just won their fantasy leagues, congratulations on your hard-earned victory. For those who were on the outside looking in, there’s always next season.

The Leafs are already looking towards next year, and beyond, after it was announced on Wednesday that they have locked up both Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly long-term, both receiving flashy new six-year contract extensions. Both were about to become restricted free agents this summer.

In this week’s Capped, we take a look at the new contracts, what they have done recently to earn them, where it takes them, and how this could help the Leafs going forward.

Morgan Rielly – Defence

Contract: Six years, $30 million ($5 million AAV)

After the Dion Phaneuf trade, the 22-year-old Rielly saw his average ice time increase to the point where he ended up leading the team in that category with roughly 23 minutes per game. He became head coach Mike Babcock’s go-to guy on the back-end. The best part about this contract for the Leafs is it locks up one of their best players long-term, and he’s still growing into his role as one of the league’s premiere defensemen.The fifth overall pick from the 2012 NHL Draft suited up for all 82 games for the Leafs, and set career highs in goals (9), assists (27), penalty minutes (28), shots on goal (167), and points (36) in what was his third NHL season. His 36 points was the fourth-highest point total on the team.

This six-year contract will buy the Leafs two of Rielly’s unrestricted free agency years. Some may have concerns that the long-term deal may decrease Rielly’s desire to put the extra effort in to progress his upside but I have a hard time believing that will happen here. The Leafs gave Jake Gardiner a long term deal at a young age, and it didn’t slow down his progression; I don’t see that happening here either.

Going forward, once the Leafs continue to put offensive weapons around Rielly, his offensive numbers should grow as well. As I mentioned, he’s still only 22-years-old, so he’s just scratching the surface of what he’s capable of.  If you look at others who made something close to $5 million AAV last year, he is on par, or even ahead of some of those defensemen, so this contract doesn’t appear to be anything near too much for what he brings, and what might be for Rielly.

Nazem Kadri – Center

Contract: Six years, $27 million ($4.5 million AAV)

Even though the 25-year-old Kadri was the top scorer on the team (45 points), he struggled to find the score sheet more nights than he would have liked. His 17 goals were his lowest total since he joined the team on a full-time basis back in 2012-13. That being said, he did have his best year as far as putting the puck on net.  His 260 shots on goal were far and away the best year he’s ever had for actual shots on goal. His miserable shooting percentage of 6.5% was his downfall this season. If he had managed to stay on par with his career average shooting percentage of 10.5%, he would have had his best year ever in goals scored with 27 goals. What might have been, I guess.Last year, the Leafs signed Kadri to a one-year “show me” type of contract, and obviously management were happy with what they saw from Kadri this past season.

Kadri was originally drafted because of his offensive tools but has found a way to groom his game as a more complete, two-way type of player. He has improved every year in the faceoff dot and won more faceoffs this year (641) than any other year in his career. It was clear down the stretch that he was Babcock’s guy when it came to taking the key draws. It also helped his cause that Tyler Bozak missed as much time as he did.

Going forward for the Leafs, I think Kadri projects as a solid #2 center for the Leafs. The expectations of huge offensive numbers for Kadri are probably not going to come to fruition, but if he can start finding the back of the net instead of the goalie’s chest, he should become a solid 25-goal, 30-assist type of player most seasons for the Leafs. 

I like both signings for the Leafs. Both Kadri and Rielly are key members for the Leafs going forward, and it’s good to see the Leafs lock both up for the long haul. I think both are good value contracts, even for today. Long-term, these contracts could very well turn into excellent bargains for the Leafs, especially Rielly’s once he blossoms.

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Thanks for reading.  Feel free to follow me on twitter @chrispudsey

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