All eyes were on Toronto on Tuesday night.
Wayne Gretzky was in the house. Bobby Orr was at the Air Canada Centre, too. They came to watch Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid face off for the first time, but left having witnessed The Nazem Kadri Show.
A first-round pick, seventh overall of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2009, Kadri signed a big-money, six-year contract over the summer. He's in for the long haul, deemed part of the solution in T.O. Yet over the first month of the season, the center has become the forgotten man, with Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner making headlines.
On Tuesday, Kadri sent notice: He's still a Maple Leaf. An important one, at that, at 26 a veteran on the NHL's youngest team. A player who will, along with the kids, bring Toronto out of the darkness.
Motivated
"I'm not here to just be a role player," Kadri told TSN's Mark Masters after scoring the game-winner Tuesday - his second goal of the game - in overtime on an impressive individual effort, fighting off McDavid before deftly putting the puck past Cam Talbot to give Toronto a 3-2 decision. "I want to help this team win."
Born in London, Ontario, Kadri clearly wears the blue and white with pride.
"I don't want people coming in here thinking it's easy to play against the Leafs," he added.
Shutting down McDavid
Kadri meant trouble for McDavid, specifically, who was playing at home - he was born just north of the city - for the first time.
From the opening faceoff, Kadri was matched up against McDavid, giving him shot after shot - a cross-check or two here, a slash there - whenever he could, doing his best to get under the skin of one of the NHL's most talented players. And it was all orchestrated.
"You don't want (McDavid) to walk all over you and he's a player capable of doing that," Kadri said.
After shoving McDavid after a whistle in the first period, Kadri not only had the attention of No. 97, but also his linemate, Milan Lucic. And when Kadri's irking numerous guys on the opposition, that's when he's at his best.
Edmonton, as a team, took notice. Head coach Todd McLellan double-shifted McDavid, trying him on different lines, in an effort to get him away from Kadri.
"He was awesome out there," Matthews said of his teammate. "He was creating havoc, making it tough on that big line."
Kadri was a two-way force Tuesday, playing the type of game that got him noticed, showing skill, two-way prowess, and a ton of emotion. And he did it all in only 14:05 of ice time.
Maturity, and production
Kadri made strides last season, his first with Mike Babcock as his head coach. Almost from day one behind the bench, Babcock raved about how much Kadri impressed him, in all facets of the game. Kadri cares - he's made that clear in his time with Toronto.
But the 2015-16 season came with its frustrations, despite a career-high 18:16 in ice time per game and a whopping 260 shots. Kadri finished with 17 goals and 45 points in 76 games, but his 6.5 percent shooting percentage was the lowest of his seven-year career - and it wasn't close.
Last year is in the past, though, and so is Kadri's team-imposed three-game suspension in 2015 for missing a team meeting, his future in Toronto appearing somewhat in doubt.
Kadri's matured. And he's quietly off to an impressive start in 2016-17, even though he's seeing much less ice thanks to a much deeper crop of Toronto forwards. He's got five goals and eight points in 10 games. He's shooting 23.8 percent. He didn't hit the five-goal mark until Dec. 5 last year, and went into 2016 with only six goals in 36 games. If anyone deserves some puck luck, it's No. 43.
Kadri won't be flying under the radar much longer, especially as Matthews finds himself in the first slump of his young career.
The Maple Leafs are Matthews' and Nylander's and Morgan Rielly's team, of that there's no doubt. But Kadri will undoubtedly be influential in Toronto's rise out of the basement. He made that clear Tuesday night.
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