March 6, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Martin Necas (88) celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal against Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger (29) in an overtime penalty shootout at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Image Nazem Kadri played a key role in Colorado’s 2022 Stanley Cup championship, and returned with the Avalanche to win it again four years later.
Kadri, who left in free agency the summer after Colorado won the title, was acquired from Calgary at the trade deadline on Friday. He is expected to return with the Avalanche on Sunday afternoon when they host the Minnesota Wild in Denver.
“We needed some more game-breaking scoring that we may have missed in the playoffs last year,” star Nathan MacKinnon said after Friday night’s 5-4 win at Dallas. “Once again, our management is all in. It’s clearly cup or bust for us.”
Colorado is in win-win mode after being eliminated in the first round last season and has added pieces that it hopes will pay off. Defenseman Brett Kulak was acquired on Feb. 24, Nicholas Roy was traded to Toronto on Thursday to make his Avalanche debut against the Stars, and now Kadri is there.
“It’s a very interesting situation for me,” Kadri said Friday.
The move, which required multiple draft picks along with defensemen Samuel Girard and Victor Olofsson, gives depth to the Avalanche’s line. They also help cushion the loss of Artturi Lehkonen to an upper-body injury suffered Monday night in Los Angeles.
Sunday is another big game for Colorado. The Avalanche led the NHL all season, but Dallas and Minnesota surged to close the gap. With 84 points, the Wild are nine points behind Colorado with two more games to play.
Minnesota made some big moves last week to bolster its title hopes, separately trading defenseman Jeff Petry and forwards Michael McCarron, Bobby Brink and Nick Foligno. The Wild also claimed Robby Fabbri off waivers.
McCarron and Brink made their Minnesota debuts Friday night in a 4-2 win in Vegas. McCarron had a goal and an assist in the win.
“I was nervous. It wasn’t a good first (shift) for me because I switched to a breakaway. After that, I kind of picked up,” McCarron said. “It felt good to get a few points out there. It’s not necessarily what I came here for, but it feels good to get the reward.”
Sunday marks the fourth and final game between the Central Division rivals, with Minnesota having won two of their first three games since defeating the Avalanche 5-2 on Feb. 26 in Denver. Matt Boldy had two goals and two assists in that game and has continued his scoring streak since returning from the Olympics with three goals and seven assists in five games.
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild with 75 points (35 goals, 40 assists) while Boldy has 72 points (35 goals, 37 assists).
MacKinnon continues to play at an MVP level for Colorado. He ranks second in the NHL in scoring with 103 points (42 goals, 61 assists), while Martin Necas ranks second on the team with 76 points (28 goals, 48 assists).
–Field level media
