Nazem Kadri’s offensive totals during his time with the Calgary Flames are impressive. Beyond that, his performance in a distinctly unglamorous category — games played — offers more insight into why he’s such a valuable commodity, either to a young Flames team in need of north stars or a club trying to deal for a proven No. 2 centre in a trade and free agent market bereft of them.
Kadri posted a career-best 35 goals with the Flames last season. One season prior, Kadri tallied 75 points, the second-highest total of his impressive career. Both those numbers were attached to stat lines that read “82 GP,” just like his first season in Calgary, where Kadri has yet to miss a contest since signing with the Flames in 2022.
Showing up is a huge part of success, and Kadri has played the full slate of games in four of his teams’ past five campaigns.
That’s just the cherry on top for a Flames squad that knows the value of having Kadri everywhere — at practice, in front of a microphone, on the ice for games — all the time for a young-and-learning club.
The question, of course, is whether Kadri’s big-picture situation and that of the team are too divergent. The former turns 35 in October; the latter is a franchise re-tooling on the fly in front of 24-year-old stud goalie Dustin Wolf and a collection of other players roughly in that age range.
By all accounts, Calgary — which missed the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs by barely a whisper — wants to be competitive again next year and Kadri would certainly help with that. On the other hand, if the Flames can acquire players in a younger demographic who have the potential to help for the next decade, you can see how moving Kadri might make sense for GM Craig Conroy.
The 2022 Cup champ with Colorado has four years left on a contract that pays him $7 million annually. As part of that deal, he also currently holds a full no-move clause, so he’s not going anywhere without giving a nod of approval. (Kadri’s trade protection flips to a 13-team no-trade list next July, according to the absolutely awesome Puckpedia).
While it’s understood the Flames have been in no great rip to make this move, Kadri’s name has remained a stubborn fixture on trade boards across the internet for the past six months.
If the cagey pivot is moved, here are some logical landing spots.
The Habs entered the off-season with a throbbing need at 2C and have been linked to just about any player who could possibly fill that hole.
Even after acquiring Noah Dobson at the draft, Montreal’s cache of picks and prospects is such that it would have more than enough powder to get a deal for Kadri done. The Canadiens have a number of youngsters who have spent a year or two in the AHL and appear ready — or almost ready — for NHL duty. That might be just the demo that piques Calgary’s interest.
Of course, Kadri grew up a Habs fan in Southern Ontario and got booed in the Bell Centre when the hated Toronto Maple Leafs drafted him seventh overall in the 2009. Maybe Canadiens fans are ready to make amends.
The real question for Montreal backers: would you be OK moving for Kadri even if it means fully putting the Sidney Crosby fantasy to bed?
New Jersey needs some nasty.
The Devils have two great centres in Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, the latter of whom is a fantastic two-way player. Could you imagine slotting Kadri in as the No. 3? That would provide the Devils with unmatched depth down the middle — and you could even kick Hughes out to wing from time to time if the moment called for it.
The Devils are a talented group, but Kadri would provide some bite the team lacks. New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe would also certainly have some familiarity with the player thanks to their shared time in the Leafs organization.
While Dawson Mercer hasn’t been quite the staple of trade rumours that Kadri is, his future in Jersey — even after signing a new, three-year deal last summer — has felt murky at times and, at 23, he sure seems like the type of player the Flames would be interested in as part of a return.
These teams do have a history of significant swaps, having worked together on the trade that sent Jacob Markstrom to ‘The Swamp’ last summer in addition to a deal that moved Tyler Toffoli from Alberta to Jersey in 2023.
The Canes bolstered the flank by signing winger Nikolaj Ehlers in free agency, but Carolina could still use help down the middle. Kadri would slot in perfectly behind top-line pivot Sebastian Aho and ahead of big 3C Jordan Staal.
The Hurricanes have over $10 million in cap space, even after signing Ehlers. The Canes have been in go-for-it mode all year, making the bold play to acquire Mikko Rantanen from Colorado in January, inquiring about Mitch Marner at the trade deadline when it became clear Rantanen would not sign to stay in Raleigh, then aggressively manoeuvering to land Ehlers via free agency and defenceman K’Andre Miller via trade in the off-season.
Carolina has an extra 2028 first-rounder thanks to the deal that sent Rantanen to the Stars at the trade deadline.
How much better would the Canes feel lining up against the Florida Panthers in the playoffs if they had Kadri in the lineup to combat the shift disturbers in Florida’s crew?
Get the band back together?
Basically, the Avs won the 2022 title, then lost captain Gabriel Landeskog to a knee injury for three years and watched Kadri walk out the door that summer as a UFA. Given how perfectly suited to playoff hockey both those guys are, it’s no wonder Colorado has managed just a single series victory since both — for different reasons — were torn from the lineup.
Landeskog, of course, made heartwarming headlines when he finally returned to Colorado’s lineup during the playoffs and — considering his extended hiatus — looked good doing it.
How much would the complexion of the Avs change if they re-patriated Kadri, too?
Colorado signed deadline acquisition Brock Nelson to a three-year deal, but could conceivably pop him out to wing on one of the top two lines.
Still, this one feels like a longshot thanks to the Avs’ relatively tight cap situation. One option for a deal might be if Colorado sent 26-year-old Martin Necas the other way, freeing up $6.5 million in space. Necas, as it happens, sits alongside Kadri on the latest trade board compiled by Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos.
The rub, though, is it seems like Necas has been coveting his UFA status ever since signing a two-year deal last summer that walks him to free agency in 2026 and there’s no way Calgary makes that swap without knowing Necas is committing to Southern Alberta beyond one season.
Toronto Maple Leafs
We’ve already put one of Kadri’s former clubs on this list and lord knows we’ll hear about it if we don’t include the other one.
Six summers ago, Kadri was dealt by former Leafs GM Kyle Dubas to Colorado for defenceman Tyson Barrie and centre Alex Kerfoot.
Ugh.
Kadri’s time in Toronto was ultimately marred by not one, but two suspensions in consecutive playoff seasons.
Even with a regime change in the front office and behind the bench, the Leafs could probably use more mean in their lineup as they search for that elusive post-season winning formula.
Would an older, wiser — but still really good and gritty — Kadri help get the team that drafted him over the top?
Maybe he could, but the Leafs don’t have a 2026 or 2027 first-round pick to offer the Flames. That, among other considerations, may explain why Kypreos believes a reunion is unlikely. Consider what he had to say in his latest trade board:
Toronto [general manager]Brad Treliving has tried numerous times to trade with his old club in the past only to be shut down by the Flames on [Chris] Tanev, [Nikita] Zadorov and [Rasmus] Andersson, so it may be a stretch for the Leafs to land Kadri.
Given how much the Flames value Kadri, maybe that could be said of any team that doesn’t absolutely blow Conroy’s socks off.
