The Calgary Flames may be far from finished making roster moves. In his latest update on his trade board, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos noted that Nazem Kadri has asked to be moved this year. Kadri would be interested in joining a trade contender this season.
What does this mean for the Calgary Flames?
This should not come as a surprise, as the rumours around Kadri’s future in Calgary have gone on non-stop this season. He has even been noticeably frustrated at times in game, shaking his head and banging his stick in frustration when the team is down.
Kadri has already won the Cup with Colorado once in his career, but the former Leaf is the type of player looking to chase the glory of another. Several teams could make sense for him, with Montreal reportedly interested in his services some time back.
The Flames’ centreman does have a 13-team no-trade clause, which likely includes most of the league’s bottom-dwellers. This shouldn’t be a major impediment in a deal, given his preference to go to a contender.
The real challenge in trading Nazem Kadri
The challenge will be his contract. While $$7M is a smaller cap hit to absorb in a rising cap era than before, it’s still a lot to hold on to for three more seasons beyond this one. Contending teams are already up to the cap as it is, and adding that much more is going to be difficult unless the Flames are willing to retain salary. They are already retaining on two other contracts, Rasmus Andersson and Jacob Markstrom, and if they retain money on Kadri as well, it fills their last retained salary spot. This makes other deals difficult.
Kadri’s will to move is one thing, but whether the Flames are able to make it work is another thing completely. An elite centreman with a cup under his belt is something that most teams would drool over. If the Flames are able to make a deal work, they should be able to get a haul for him. Especially with how tight the Eastern Conference is, numerous teams are going to be interested in making a move to secure a playoff spot, and adding a player like Kadri would be a major difference-maker.