The Calgary Flames have reportedly signed free agent centre Nazem Kadri. The contract is for seven years but no financial information has been released yet. According to Kevin Weekes, Calgary is also working on a potential deal to move centre Sean Monahan.
Kadri deal to the Flames is being finalized. 7 year deal is believed to be the term.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) August 18, 2022
Nazem Kadri Signed Contract, Leaves Colorado
Over his 13-year NHL career, Kadri played for both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche. The Leafs drafted him back in 2009 with their first round, seventh overall selection. In the years since he amassed 219 goals and 293 assists for 512 career points in 739 career games.
Last season Kadri posted 28 goals and 59 assists for a career-high 87 points. This pushed him past the 70- and 80-point plateaus for the first time in his career. The centreman also added 71 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers ranked at 63.1 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of 14.2.
What This Means for the Future
For Kadri, 2021-22 represented the last year on his six-season contract worth $4.5 million annually. He signed that contract back in April of 2016, as a member of the Leafs. He followed his new deal with back-to-back 32-goal campaigns, a new accomplishment for the forward. But then, Toronto went out and added John Tavares, making Kadri the odd-man-out in the team’s top six. He still made the most of his opportunities and posted great possession metrics, though. Ultimately, the loss of his powerplay minutes and top six linemates contributed to some scoring regression. Between that and continued disciplinary issues in the postseason, Kadri wound up in Denver via trade ahead of the 2019-20 season.
Kadri In Colorado
Kadri’s tenure in Colorado started strong, as he bounced back production-wise right away. He was on pace for 30 goals when the season was paused for the COVID-19 pandemic. Though 2020-21 saw less production and another suspension in the postseason, Kadri came out the other side better than ever. His career-best 2021-22 season, and at 31 years of age, took the league by surprise. He quietly finished within the top 20 in scoring league-wide, thanks largely to the fact that he shares a uniform with so many other stars. Mikko Rantanen (92 points), Nathan MacKinnon (88 points), and Cale Makar (86 points) all steal the limelight, and rightfully so – well, usually. Kadri’s 87 points put him smack-dab between MacKinnon and Makar for third on the team, an awesome stat considering he plays on the team’s second line.
The Avalanche, like the last couple of seasons, can’t always keep the band together. Last year, the casualties were Philipp Grubauer, Joonas Donskoi, Brandon Saad, Ryan Graves, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, amongst others. Kadri won’t be their only loss this year, either, but likely ranks as the one that hurts the most out of the last few years combined.
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