Free agent suitors concerned with Kadri’s contract year as he hopes for monster deal

Everyone has been impressed with Colorado Avalanche’s Nazem Kadri, who third in the NHL in points and second in assists this season. And he too knows how good he is. Kadri is on the verge of becoming an unrestricted free agent for the very first time in his NHL career and with possibly the biggest negotiations of his life on the horizon Kadri has made a major change. The forward recently fired his former agent and made a shift to Darren Ferris as he approaches what could be one of the most important moments of his career. On Tuesday’s edition of Insider Trading on TSN, Pierre LeBrun revealed that Kadri is likely headed for a big payday as an unrestricted free agent this summer and we bet there will be no shortage of suitors.

“He’s 31 years old, which is an age that does worry some teams, but man, this guy is having an unreal year. And he’s represented by Darren Ferris and we know that Ferris in the past has a pattern with pending UFAs which is to bring his guys to market. And that’s the plan right now between Ferris and Kadri. Which will keep Colorado in the fold, but I think the idea is right now let’s see what other teams have to offer and what kind of interest there is and then we’ll get back to Colorado. It could be a big contract for Nazem Kadri.”

But let’s not rule out Colorado just yet. According to Cap Friendly, the Avalanche would have about $26.5M in cap space (if the salary ceiling stayed at $82.5M). The team currently devotes just over $55M to 12 roster spots.

While we don’t doubt Ferris will look to get the best deal for his client, let’s not forget that carries huge “aging curve” risks in a bidding war context and comes with a reputation and a run of playoff suspensions. However, Kadri is not likely to accept a discount.

And so, will he land that big contract on the free agent market this summer?