The Olympics are officially over, and the Flames are back on the ice, taking on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. With the return to NHL ice, all eyes are on the Calgary Flames to see what moves they make in advance of the NHL Trade Deadline on March 6th. Nazem Kadri’s name has circled here and there, but reports from Darren Dreger on Barnburner are that there are offers available to the team, should they wish to explore them.
What to make of the Nazem Kadri trade rumours?
Darren Dreger is far from the most authoritative voice in the NHL media landscape, but he adds fuel to a fire that has already been burning. There have been numerous reports of mutual interest in Kadri leaving the Flames, with the forward reportedly being open to being moved, and the Flames reportedly looking to facilitate that.
If we assume this to be at least partially true, the question becomes, if the offers are as good as Dreger says they are, why haven’t the Flames made the move? A couple of reasons. First, there’s a chance that the Flames don’t see them as favourably as Dreger does. GM Craig Conroy has been clear about his trade philosophy and what he wants back, and if it doesn’t fit that, it is unlikely to happen.
More importantly, Nazem Kadri has trade protection in his deal and has a 13-team no-trade clause. There’s a good chance that the teams making the offers that Dreger is hearing about are teams on Kadri’s list. Unless he waives his no-trade to that team, the Flames aren’t able to make that move.
It’s worth taking these rumours with a grain of salt, but where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. Kadri’s trade protection, contract length, and cap hit make him harder to move than others on this team’s roster, but if the right deal can be struck, there’s a good chance he’s playing for another team in a few weeks.