Flames’ Kadri happy to be staying put at deadline as he continues to lead youth
Nazem Kadri has embraced the challenge of being a top gun on a rebuilding team full of youngsters. His leadership is part of the reason the Flames are in the playoff race, and because of it, he isn’t going anywhere at the deadline.
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TAMPA BAY – Nazem Kadri’s philosophy around remaining a Calgary Flame is relatively straightforward.
Keep moving towards building a winner and he’ll remain committed to helping you get there.
In fact, as he’s done all season long, he’ll lead the way.
Because of it, he isn’t going anywhere at this year’s trade deadline.
Kadri controls his fate with a no-movement clause this year and next, that turns into a modified no-trade list of 13 teams for the final three years of a seven-year, $49 million deal.
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Asked if he contemplated wanting out of a franchise that has had to do some serious pivoting since his arrival in 2022, he had this to say.
“Hey listen, I know there’s some people probably out there that want to lose and get a high pick,” said the 34-year-old centre.
“But if you’re truly a guy that wants to lose, then I’ll show you a loser. I wouldn’t want to be around those kinds of people.
“There’s also a bunch of people that believe in us, and we respect that.”
Namely, management.
Craig Conroy has told fellow GMs he’s not interested in trading Kadri, Rasmus Andersson or MacKenzie Weegar, as they’re far too important for a team clinging to the west’s final wild-card spot.
Kadri’s ongoing conversations with Conroy have confirmed as much.
“Just talking to him on a daily basis, I understand where his head’s at, and you know what the direction is, what our plan is for the most part,” said Kadri, who recently hit the 20-goal mark for the seventh time.
“So, it’s always nice to have some transparency, an open line of communication. I think that’s where teams perform the best.”
Kadri has been the team’s most consistent skater this season, combining with Jonathan Huberdeau to be the team’s top point getter.
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At the most important time of the year, he’s riding a seven-game point streak, which included an assist on Huberdeau’s insurance marker in Tuesday’s 3-1 win in Washington.
After years of being dubbed one of the league’s best No. 2 centres, he admits he was bothered by the notion he couldn’t shoulder the load as the top man.
“Absolutely,” he said of the perceived snub.
“I’ve always felt like I could be at the top of the lineup. Obviously me and Nate (Nathan MacKinnon) in Colorado worked as a great one-two punch. He was an easy guy to play behind, but you had to pick up a lot of the slack. I always felt like I could get the job done.”
Kadri’s leadership role has extended far beyond goals (20), assists (23) and fostering the growth of youngsters like Connor Zary, Martin Pospisil and Matt Coronato.
It was Kadri who did well to silence much of the pre-season speculation on his, and other players’ futures, by asking the media to “pump the brakes” and just let them play.
“I can’t say enough about how he’s approached this year,” said Ryan Huska, who dubbed him and Huberdeau the “unsung heroes” of a team that has proven a lot of people wrong.
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“When there were a lot of questions at the beginning of the year, he’s been the guy that’s answered every night for us.
Questions about him, our team, there was a lot of stuff floating around earlier in the year, and he, right from the beginning was like, ‘no, we’re going to be just fine.’ And I think he’s taken a little bit upon himself as well in that area to make sure we are just fine.”
As a long list of cornerstone players were traded out of Calgary last season, it would have been easy for Kadri to request a trade to a franchise with a better chance at winning.
Instead, he’s embraced the challenge of being a top gun on a rebuilding team full of unproven youngsters.
“I’m very proud,” said Kadri of the role he’s played thus far.
“I knew we kind of had to lead the way from the very get-go, and had a lot of young guys that probably needed some guidance. But everyone’s been great. It’s an honour to play with these guys who are going to be around the league when I’m not here anymore.”
