The fallout continues for Nazem Kadri.
The Toronto forward, who was sent home from Sunday’s practice after missing a team meeting, will sit as a healthy scratch tonight when the Leafs host the Islanders at the ACC.Kadri: “I just slept in.”
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) March 9, 2015
Nazem Kadri is scratched tonight. “It’s brutal.”
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 9, 2015
Kadri: I’ve screwed up so I have to face the consequences. #TMLtalk
— David Alter (@dalter) March 9, 2015
Kadri added he apologized to head coach Peter Horachek, but that gesture didn’t seem to do much to appease his no-nonsense bench boss, who hasn’t been shy about stamping his authority on the Leafs during his short spell in charge.
When asked yesterday to expand on the Kadri situation, Horachek was blunt.
“He missed the meeting, so I sent him home,” Horacek explained. “He’s available [Monday] -- if I want him.”
Earlier this season, Horachek parked highly-paid-yet-underachieving forward David Clarkson as a healthy scratch, saying he knew the “political ramifications” of doing so.
“I don’t really look at the contract,” Horachek said, per the National Post. “I know the political ramifications, but make the decision as a coach.”
Over the weekend, Horachek again called his team outt. He said the Leafs showed no effort in a 6-1 loss to St. Louis, adding that the Blues “outplayed us, and they outclassed us.”