{"id":519507,"date":"2026-03-05T04:11:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T04:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/519507\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T04:11:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T04:11:11","slug":"avs-need-to-bring-denver-hero-nazem-kadri-home-at-nhl-trade-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/519507\/","title":{"rendered":"Avs need to bring Denver hero Nazem Kadri home at NHL trade deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"

No more Mr. Naz Guy.<\/a> I mean, did you see those Stars late Tuesday night, Chris MacFarland?<\/a><\/p>\n

No, no, no. Not the ones skating in Calgary. The ones circling around Lian Bichsel\u2019s head after he messed around with Nazem Kadri.<\/p>\n

While the Avalanche were taking a chainsaw<\/a> to Anaheim, Kadri got busy trying to re-arrange Bichsel\u2019s central incisors. It was glorious.<\/a><\/p>\n

About five minutes into the second stanza at the Scotiabank Saddledome, Bichsel, Dallas\u2019 6-foot-7 defenseman, pushed Kadri into the boards behind the net. Naz retaliated with his right elbow. As you do.<\/p>\n

The two danced into the crease. Bichsel shoved the 6-foot Kadri, against whom he\u2019s got an advantage of 7 inches in height and 46 pounds in weight, twice \u2014 until they were past the right post.<\/p>\n

Naz had enough. He landed a left jab on the big lug\u2019s jaw. Then a right cross with stick still in hand. The Swiss D-man dropped a quick 1-2 on Kadri\u2019s head before a pack closed in to separate the pair.<\/p>\n

Seven inches.<\/p>\n

Forty-six pounds.<\/p>\n

Ain\u2019t the size of the dog in the fight.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the size of the fight in the dawg.<\/p>\n

Go get that dawg, Chris.<\/p>\n

\"LeoLeo Carlsson #91 and Jacob Trouba #65 of the Anaheim Ducks push Nazem Kadri #91 of the Calgary Flames to the ice during the third period of a game at Honda Center on March 01, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The NHL trade deadline expires just after lunch on Friday. As of late Wednesday afternoon, MacFarland, the Avs\u2019 general manager, was still looking for a third-line or second-line center. And Kadri \u2014 one of the heroes of Colorado\u2019s 2022 Stanley Cup champions, Denver\u2019s favorite \u201cbad\u201d cop \u2014 was looking to join a playoff team again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had internal chats,\u201d Kadri told NHL.com last month when asked about his trade stock.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, those we\u2019ll keep private, but, yeah, we\u2019ve had discussions and communicated. I think that\u2019s what makes it great, is having that open line of conversation and just being able to understand where everybody\u2019s at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kadri is 35 and on the fourth season of a seven-year, $49-million deal on a team going nowhere. The Avs (41-10-9) are the best team in the NHL.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re also in a heck of a position to get this generational core of MacKinnon-Makar-Landeskog another summer parade. If, of course, they can patch up some holes before the trade window shuts tight.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause other teams are doing the same. So if you don\u2019t change, then you may fall behind,\u201d Avs defenseman Josh Manson told me recently. \u201cObviously, it\u2019s a risk upsetting (locker room) culture or whatever it may be. But I think you always have to be trying to fine-tune.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s up to management. I think (they\u2019ll make) the best decision for our team moving forward because, at the end of the day, I think it reflects on them the most. Besides how the players and the way they play, how the team and what\u2019s been assembled reflects on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

To that end, Kadri the player ticks a whole bunch of boxes.<\/a> He\u2019s physical. He\u2019s scrappy. He\u2019s clever. He\u2019s persistent. He\u2019s stubborn. He\u2019s not just a pest. He\u2019s a skilled pest.<\/p>\n

Yeah, but \u2026<\/p>\n

Sure, Kadri\u2019s scoring (41 points in 60 games as of Wednesday morning) is down from last season\u2019s pace. But his face-off win percentage (47.9) is up, and a better clip than Parker Kelly (36.3), Ross Colton (46.2) and Gavin Brindley (38.2) have been producing to date.<\/p>\n

Yeah, but \u2026<\/p>\n

Naz also hasn\u2019t missed a regular-season game since leaving Denver as a free agent four summers ago.<\/p>\n

Yeah, but \u2026<\/p>\n

I know, I know.<\/p>\n

That contract.<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s \u2026 not \u2026 ideal. PuckPedia.com said Wednesday that the Avs had $10.8 million in \u201ctrade deadline\u201d cap space to play with.<\/a> But three more seasons left on the books for Kadri, at $7 million per year? Woof.<\/p>\n

Basically, if you\u2019re the Avs, you\u2019d be paying for the back end, and probably the worst end, of a deal the Kroenkes weren\u2019t willing to give Naz three years ago \u2014 at the peak of his value. Unless someone else is willing to help offset those costs, that\u2019s a tricky needle to thread for a 35-year-old forward.<\/p>\n

Especially because Cale Makar is about to get paid. The best D-man in the world is eligible for an extension on July 1. And the next one should be a doozy, a deal that\u2019s expected to hike his cap number from $9 million this season to $18 million or $19 million going forward. The eye of that needle shrinks by the day.<\/p>\n

Still, a team with a 30-year-old Nathan MacKinnon, a 33-year-old Landeskog, a 34-year-old Brock Nelson, a 34-year-old Manson and a 40-year-old Brent Burns has kind of already laid its cards out for everyone to see.<\/a> Whatever chips you\u2019ve got left, you\u2019re pushing them to the center of the table.<\/p>\n

When he\u2019s right, Naz is as chippy as they come. Remember 2022? The March To Lord Stanley is an HBO spin-off series in and off itself. To produce enough episodes to get you to June, you need compelling villains or anti-heroes who relish the smoke and keep the narrative moving.<\/p>\n

It takes a village to win a Cup. Every series is a self-contained storyline waiting for someone to grasp the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Four springs ago, Naz grabbed it by the thorax. If the \u201922 playoffs were a \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d arc, Kadri was The Avs\u2019 Sandor Clegane, Denver\u2019s Hound.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jordan Binnington. Water bottles. Threats. Sweet revenge.<\/a> They don\u2019t get over the line without him. Or beat the Lightning in Game 4 of those Finals on that Florida slush pond.<\/a><\/p>\n

According to longtime NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, Kadri has 13 teams on his no-trade list. Colorado isn\u2019t believed to be one of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, you want to try and be as deep as you possibly can going into this (postseason), right? \u201d Avs coach Jared Bednar reflected late last month. \u201cWe like the guys we have. They\u2019re all doing a great job, no question. If we can get deeper, stronger in certain positions, then I\u2019m sure C-Mac and Joe (Sakic) and their staff will try and do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kadri has put up 11 points and four goals over his last 10 games vs. the Stars. Let that dawg in. Let him eat. In these playoffs, Naz Guys get the silverware. Nice Guys go home.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No more Mr. Naz Guy. I mean, did you see those Stars late Tuesday night, Chris MacFarland? No,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,29935,69717,105597,90684,59632,78213,3912,7522,3895,7521,3897,2755,56129,259382,9054,109346,242236,157145,3914,44096,61995,38159,56779,575,13610,259383,157146,27167,85,2136,4787],"class_list":["post-519507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-avalanche","tag-avalanche-takes","tag-brent-burns","tag-brock-nelson","tag-cale-makar","tag-chris-macfarland","tag-colorado","tag-colorado-avalanche","tag-contract","tag-dallas-stars","tag-denver","tag-florida","tag-game-of-thrones","tag-gavin-brindley","tag-hbo","tag-jared-bednar","tag-jordan-binnington","tag-josh-manson","tag-latest-headlines","tag-lightning","tag-more-avalanche-news","tag-nathan-mackinnon","tag-nazem-kadri","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-trade-deadline","tag-parker-kelly","tag-ross-colton","tag-sean-keeler","tag-sports","tag-sports-columnists","tag-stanley-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}