As Friday’s 3 PM ET trade deadline approached, Nazem Kadri was anxiously awaiting word on whether he would be packing up to join a Stanley Cup contender.
In fact, the 35-year-old center thought he would remain with the Calgary Flames when the clock struck 3, but he still hasn’t heard he’ll be returning to the Colorado Avalanche.
“I didn’t think anything really important was happening…,” he told reporters Friday after the trade. “(I got a call), actually, it was after the deadline had passed. So at first I thought I might stay, but then I got a call that Denver was the place.”
With his name swirling around trade season, Kadri emerged as a potential target in the middle of the pack for a contending team, with links to Montreal and Colorado leaking as of Friday.
But in the end, Kadri returned to the city where he won his first Stanley Cup, crossing the finish line at the last minute.
“I felt like my head almost hit the ceiling,” Qadri said of the moment she found out. “I was so excited.”
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The joy of rejoining his championship-winning teammates was clearly a priority for Kadri, but he called the deal “bittersweet” because “I’ve really grown to love the city of Calgary” over the past four seasons.
Kadri initially signed with the Flames in the 2022 offseason on a seven-year, $49 million contract. And while the team slowly sold off pieces during his career in Alberta, Kadri remained their most productive player, scoring 100 goals and 139 assists in 307 games.
Kadri said the two sides had developed a “great relationship” at the time and that this played a key role in Friday’s decline in trade.
“I have the utmost respect for the city, the team and the organization,” he said. “I absolutely loved my time as a Flame, and I think the respect is mutual.
“We were able to have honest, open discussions and transparent conversations. I think that can be a bit of a lost art in the league these days. So it was really an honor to be a Flame and have people in the front office who are stand-up individuals.”
Kadri won’t have to wait long to see his former teammates, as the Avalanche and Flames have yet to play this season and have three matchups scheduled.
And even if the reunion happens respectfully off the ice, Kadri doesn’t plan on slowing down the Flames one bit.
“I think it’ll be fun. I don’t cut deals,” he joked. “Then I guess it won’t be too difficult.”
