A Reunion Could Be In Store for Kadri, as Familiar Team Enters the Fray

The chances of a Nazem Kadri trade have gone from slim to inevitable the past few weeks. Not only had he previously acknowledged that he was open to a move, but now he wants to be traded, says insider Darren Dreger. Several teams have been seriously connected to the Calgary Flames' gritty center.

We've heard about clubs like the Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Detroit Red Wings that would love to get their hands on Kadri. But now for the first time, his old 'flame', the Colorado Avalanche, can be added to the mix.

Insider David Pagnotta has listed Kadri at #1 on his latest trade board, and has actually suggested two recent Stanley Cup winners as being connected to Kadri, putting forth the following list:

Colorado Avalanche
Florida Panthers
Montréal Canadiens
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild

The 35-year-old Kadri brings Stanley Cup pedigree to any contender. And of course, that Cup win came with those very same Avalanche, in 2022.

Avalanche have already cleared some cap room with another move up their sleeve

We saw that the Avs have already cleared some cap room, with the trade earlier this week of defenseman Samuel Girard to the Pittsburgh Penguins in return for Brett Kulak. That saved them $2.25 million in space, which leaves them with over $9 million in cap space. That would be enough to fit Kadri's full cap hit of $7 million,

but Pagnotta suggests that Flames GM Craig Conroy would be willing to retain some of that, if necessary, to get a deal done.

We already know, of course, that Kadri would be a great fit in Colorado. His career-high 87 points in his last season there, plus another 15 points in 16 playoff games in helping lead them to the Cup win, is proof of that.

But getting Kadri would have other major benefits for the Avs: One, it would give them an untouchable 1-2-3 center lineup to go along with Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson. Two, and maybe even more importantly, it would keep the competitive, supremely agitating center away from their two Central Division rivals, Minnesota and Dallas, who, as mentioned above, are also entrants in the Kadri Sweepstakes.

With a 13-team no-trade list, the Flames' veteran does have some say, but I think it's safe to say that Colorado is NOT on that no-trade list.