It truly would not be a fun season for the Calgary Flames if we didn’t start pondering on what trades the team can make before the calendar strikes the new year. Last season, the majority of the year was focused on which Flames would be traded first and when would the trades happen. There has been none of that this year, but with the team still in a retool phase, there will be questions in regards to some of veterans on the team.
Now, there have not been any rumours around any Flames thus far into the year, but with some teams around the league lacking in centre depth, would Nazem Kadri be a player that could be coveted league- wide?
Would it make sense for the Flames to trade Kadri?
I am not advocating for the Flames to trade Kadri at this point in time, but I don’t think anything is off the table when it comes to the Flames right now. Kadri is a fan favourite and obviously one of the team’s most important players despite what his stat line suggests early on this season.
However, Craig Conroy and the rest of the management team would not be doing their jobs if they didn’t, at the very least, explore what a trade for Kadri could look like if teams began calling about him. At the end of the day, Kadri is 34 years old and will have four years remaining on his deal at $7M when next year begins. The Flames should not have cap issues for a while, but at some point, it would be nice to begin clearing some of that cap space for when the next wave of Flames need to get paid.
There are many teams that lack depth down the middle, and plenty of teams would love to have the snarl and edge that Kadri plays with, not to mention he has a Stanley Cup to his name. Teams love the experience. If the Flames are able to retain on a good chunk of his contract, Kadri could become a very valuable asset to a contending team that wants to bolster their forward group.
Which teams make the most sense to trade for Kadri?
There are a few teams that really stick out to me when it comes to acquiring Kadri’s services. Those being the Nashville Predators, the Colorado Avalanche and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Predators and the Avalanche, in particular, really lack an impact #2 centre. While the Maple Leafs have extremely inept depth after their top two lines. The Flames would have to retain money on Kadri to make it work, but I think all three teams would love to have the services of a player like Kadri considering those teams are trying to win a championship right now.
The Predators have a ton of assets and after the offseason GM Barry Trotz put together, I’m sure he will want to make the most of the window they have.
The Avalanche have some of the best top-end talent in the league headlined by Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen will be due for a raise at season’s end. They need to go for it, and they are extremely familiar with Kadri after he played an integral part in their Cup run in 2022.
The Maple Leafs lack depth with how much money they have tied up in their core four, but with Mitch Marner and John Tavares set to be UFAs at the end of the season, they’ll be looking to make any move they can to push them to the top. Not to mention their GM Brad Treliving is the one who signed Kadri back in 2022, and I bet the fans in Toronto would love for Kadri to be a Leaf again.
A long road ahead
I don’t anticipate this picking up any steam anytime soon, especially after the Flames recorded another win last night against the aforementioned Predators. As I mentioned, the team loves Kadri, the city loves Kadri, and Kadri loves being a Flame. It would have to take things going really off the rails or a ludicrous offer for Kadri to make the Flames even consider moving him right now.
There is plenty of season left and a long time still left on Kadri’s deal, so we really will just have to wait and see what happens from here on out.
