Nazem Kadri lands in major trade rumour despite telling reporters to “pump the brakes”
Media is not listening to Kadri, only to the loud trade chatter in Calgary.
Adam Herman of the Bleacher Report has put together a list of six players who could be under-the-radar trade options at the March 7, 2025, NHL trade deadline, and topping that list is veteran forward Nazem Kadri of the Calgary Flames.
During the summer, and even before after missing out again on the postseason, the Flames entered a full-on rebuild phase, and questions quickly shifted to Kadri and if he sees himself fitting in the near future in Calgary.
Kadri carries a $7 million AAV through 2028-29 and is not the player he once was, let’s say when he won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche back in 2022, or even when he was a gritty forward with the Toronto Maple Leafs. This is brought up as many reasons per Herman Kadri could end up being moved at the deadline.
With the trade rumours surfacing since early this summer, there are also questions on Kadri’s no-movement clause and whether he would accept to waive it pretty much anywhere else to leave Calgary. I also wonder if Kadri could even demand to be traded, though his age, 33, and his hefty contract makes it somewhat difficult to move…
At the end of June, Darren Dreger of TSN reported that “teams are calling the Flames with interest in Nazem Kadri, however Calgary isn’t in a full tear down. They’re trying to reset their roster and Kadri is a big part of that.”
When the Flames opened training camp last month, Kadri told reporters to “pump the brakes” on the trade speculation. Herman and others have not listened and clearly, the performance of Calgary in the first month of the 2024-25 season will determine if more speculations come up and also if teams call general manager Craig Conroy about a move involving Kadri.
Last year, Kadri played in all 82 games for the Flames, posting 29 goals and 75 points in total.
In his six-player list, Herman also points to Buffalo Sabres’ Alex Tuch, Ryan Lindgren of the New York Rangers, Erik Karlsson of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks’ Cam Fowler and Columbus Blue Jackets’ captain Boone Jenner.
