It’s not altogether surprising if you took Lou Lamoriello and Mike Babcock at their word over and over and over again throughout the year. They painted the picture of a player who had bought into the Babcock program and was doing everything they asked of him this past season, from his work ethic to his competitiveness to improvements in his 200-foot game. Lou Lamoriello called him, “someone he’d go into a foxhole with.” Babcock has said, “he’s done whatever I’ve asked.”
We were told we were supposed to ignore all of this by fans and pundits who repeatedly made the comparisons between the effusive praise for Dion Phaneuf before his trade (the “pump and dump” scenario) and the kind words Babcock and Lamoriello have directed Kadri’s way.