The Calgary Flames should be exploring the trade market for Nazem Kadri

Going into this season, Craig Conroy and the Calgary Flames were very clear about wanting to pursue a retooling of their core. Following last season where the team traded away Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli, Nikita Zadorov, Jacob Markstrom, Andrew Mangiapane and more, the key feature in the returns were younger players and draft picks.

In interviews, Conroy spoke about following a model similar to the Dallas Stars, to rebuild in quick succession, adding key young players in the draft while retaining the two or three larger contracts that they couldn’t move. In Dallas’ case that is Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin while for the Flames it’s Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau.

Going into this season, nobody expected the Flames to be doing as well as they are, and especially nobody thought the offense would be running through the Flames’ two most expensive players. Even if Huberdeau returns to being a 115 point player like he was in Florida, it’s going to be very hard to move him and his contract, but the Flames may have the opportunity to move Kadri right now and should explore that option.

What type of player is Nazem Kadri?

When the Flames acquired Kadri after the 2021-22 season in free agency, the team was beyond thrilled. They were getting a high-end centreman who was coming off of a Stanley Cup winning season with the Colorado Avalanche. Perhaps more important than the Cup was the way that he battled through the playoffs, fighting through injuries and still being incredibly impactful on the ice. The intangibles are impossible to quantify but immensely valuable.

However, when he came to Calgary, it simply did not go as well as anyone expected. The team finished fifth in the Pacific in scoring, and Kadri finished with 56 points. Not bad, but a far cry from the 82 he had the previous year in Colorado.

The next season, Kadri led the team in scoring with 75 points, but the team behind him couldn’t add much, with Yegor Sharangovich finishing second on the team with 59. On a rebuilding team, Kadri added a ton of value, put up points and added energy to the lineup. He also moved up and down the lineup, finding chemistry eventually with Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil on a gritty scoring line.

This season again Kadri continues to be a leader on the scoresheet for the Flames. Through 32 games, he has 21 points, second on the team behind Huberdeau who has 22. Kadri has also scored a number of huge goals for the team and has been a key part of helping the team’s younger players develop.

The Flames are playing well now, why move Kadri?

Given his production and the way the season is shaping up across the NHL, this is the time to try to move Kadri. Timing is everything and you want to strike while the iron is hot. While he continues to produce highlight-reel goals, eyes across the NHL are on the former Toronto Maple Leafs’ star, and now makes a ton of sense to try to explore the market on him. Should he go down with injury or go cold, the market for him could disappear and leave the Flames stuck with an aging and expensive asset as they move towards their winning window.

There are also a number of teams across the NHL that desperately need to change their forward groups and that could use a player like Kadri. Perhaps none more so than the New York Rangers who have dropped now to sixth in the Metropolitan Division. The team is struggling to get anything going right now and needs a player who can bring scoring, grit, and experience to their room. Kadri is the type of player who would fit that bill.

Without moving anyone out, the Rangers could fit him under their cap, with an estimated $7.56 million dollars in cap room currently according to Puckpedia. However, the Flames will be looking for a mix of young players, prospects, and/or draft picks in return. While the Flames did technically get him for free, signing him as a free agent, they had to move Sean Monahan to the Montreal Canadiens that summer and that cost the team a first round pick. They should be looking for the equivalent of that back for Kadri.

The optimal move for the Flames from New York would be to inquire about Kaapo Kakko‘s services, who was a healthy scratch a couple games back. The former first round pick has not developed the way the Rangers expected, and is someone the Flames should absolutely be calling about as part of this deal. While the trade would not and should not be one-for-one, this would be a great basis for a trade that benefits both sides.

Two teams that could desperately use Kadri are the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres, who really seem to need some veteran leadership in their rooms. However, Kadri does have a full no-movement clause, and it feels unlikely that he would waive to go to Ottawa or Buffalo.

The other team that would make a ton of sense if the Minnesota Wild, who are lacking centre depth with the injury to Joel Eriksson Ek. They would need to make room for him under the cap, with minimal cap space currently, but if they could make the math work, the Flames should be asking for centre Marco Rossi back in return. He would fit the young centre role that the Flames have clearly been looking for, and would speed the rebuild along substantially. The math is tricky, but the fit makes a lot of sense.

Should the Flames trade Nazem Kadri?

The one thing that has continued to hold back the Dallas Stars in their push for the Stanley Cup has been their constant cap tightness due to the two large contracts that they have on the books. They team has nearly $20 million tied up in those two players and that massively limits the team’s ability to add depth in the playoff push compared to other teams.

The Flames are in the exact same boat with Kadri and Huberdeau, and as they get older, the hard it is going to be to move either of them. This is a unique position that the Flames are in to be able to move one of the two right now, and if there is a market to do so, even if they have to retain something as part of the deal, they should look to do so.

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