July 1 was a very busy day for leagues around the NHL as nearly 100 players signed new deals in the first six hours of the official signing period, but the biggest shock of all came shortly after when the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Colorado Avalanche made a blockbuster deal that sent Nazem Kadri to the Avalanche and Tyson Barrie to Toronto.
The trade news came out of nowhere as Leafs fans have been completely focused on Mitch Marner’s new deal and when that’s going to get done, so there were plenty of mixed reactions from fans as they landed a top defenceman but it was in exchange for a long-time Maple Leaf.
It’s definitely tough for Leafs fans to see Kadri go in the deal, but they landed Tyson Barrie in the deal and they’ve been in serious need of a defence.
Kadri played 561 games in a Maple Leafs uniform over 10 seasons and scored 161 goals and totaled 357 points in that time, and also registered three goals and 10 points in 19 playoff games, while Tyson Barrie registered 75 goals and 307 points in 484 regular season games and 14 points in 21 playoff games.
