Nazem Kadri gets honest on Flames future
The Calgary Flames made significant changes to their roster during the 2022 offseason. They traded Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar, while also losing the late Johnny Gaudreau to free agency following a career-high 115 points.
A key move by then-GM Brad Treliving was signing gritty forward Nazem Kadri to a seven-year, $49 million contract, fresh off his Stanley Cup win with the Colorado Avalanche. However, the Flames have failed to make the postseason in each of Kadri's first two years with the team, while Huberdeau has experienced a mind-blowing drop in offensive production.
In the meantime, trade rumors involving Nazem Kadri have been circulating online, making it a popular point of discussion during the offseason leading up to the start of training camp earlier today. He made sure to reiterate his "love" of the city of Calgary and playing for the Flames when he gathered for a media scrum following the first day of on-ice drills, via Salim Valji of TSN.
"I feel like it's super early to be asking these kinds of questions, so I'm gonna ask you guys to pump the brakes a little bit," Kadri said. "Let us go play, and we're going to try to rally around each other and surprise some people. I love the city, I love the organization."
"I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror and accomplish something great every single day," Kadri continued when talking about his veteran status. "I'm also learning [and] wanting to become a better person and better player."
Nazem Kadri entering third year of a seven-year, $49 million contract
Taken with the seventh overall selection in the 2009 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kadri would play the first 10 years of his career with the team. He was then traded to the Avalanche in July of 2019 in a blockbuster deal that brought Tyson Barrie, Alexander Kerfoot and a sixth-round pick in 2020 back to the Leafs.
Kadri brought his trademark grinding style of play and key goal-scoring to the Rocky Mountains, eventually helping the Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup victory since 2001. He tallied the game-winning overtime goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final to give Colorado a 3-1 series lead.
Earlier in the postseason, Kadri became the target of threats after colliding with St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, causing Binnington to miss the rest of the series. The threats were taken seriously and referred to local authorities in St. Louis. Kadri responded to the adversity with a statement performance, scoring a hat trick in the following game against the Blues.
