Friedman: Don't be surprised to see Kadri join Original 6 squad

The Detroit Red Wings entered the 2022 NHL free agency period with over $31 million worth of salary cap space, and they've spent much of it by bringing Andrew Copp, David Perron, Olli Maatta, Ben Chiarot, and Dominik Kubalik amongst others to the Motor City as general manager Steve Yzerman continues to reshape the roster into contending status. 

But could Yzerman have yet another move up his sleeve? We've learned over the years to never underestimate Yzerman and his bag of tricks as a general manager with his willingness to make shrewd moves both in Detroit and with the Tampa Bay Lightning. And according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, don't be surprised to see him snag one of the biggest remaining free agents on the market. 

Kadri certainly proved that he's still an effective player, racking up 87 points (28 goals, 59 assists) last season in just 71 regular season games played with the powerful Colorado Avalanche. He would also go on to score seven goals and eight assists in 16 postseason games as the Avs would go on to win the Stanley Cup. 

He's coming off a six-year, $4.5 million AAV deal that he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016, and he's projected to receive as much as $8 million (or more) in his next deal. Meanwhile, the Red Wings still have just over $10 million remaining in available cap space after their multitude of offseason additions. Bringing aboard Kadri would certainly be the capper to what has been an extremely busy summer for Yzerman. But is he willing to make a long term commitment to a player on the wrong side of 30 years of age? 

In 739 career NHL games with the Maple Leafs and Avalanche, Kadri has 219 goals with 293 assists for 512 points. He's also appeared in 52 postseason games, scoring 19 goals with 25 assists.