Toronto Maple Leafs’ centre Nazem Kadri came clean and admitted he’d done a silly thing with his on-the-bench throat-slashing gesture Tuesday after Calgary Flames’ captain Mark Giordano blew him up with a ripping open-ice hit.
“It was a mistake, an emotional decision,” said Kadri.
“You have to take a hit and act like a professional.”
“Things happen quickly out there and sometimes you make a mistake. I’m a young player, making a mistake, caught in a vulnerable position,” he said.
Kadri, who missed Wednesday’s Leafs’ skate at Clareview Arena as a maintenance day because he felt a little sore, plays his best on the edge but his angry gesture didn’t look good, especially because the hit was hard, but not over the edge.