Calgary Flames sign forward Nazem Kadri
Posted Aug 18, 2022 10:56 am.
Last Updated Aug 19, 2022 6:15 am.
Nazem Kadri is the newest member of the Calgary Flames, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.
Terms of the contract were not immediately known.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1560303210149052417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1560303210149052417%7Ctwgr%5Ee4c83049b33adbfa03f358feb4ef05c33ce85d3d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsnet.ca%2Fnhl%2Farticle%2Fcalgary-flames-signing-top-free-agent-forward-nazem-kadri%2F
Kadri, who won the Stanley Cup this past season with the Colorado Avalanche, was a much-coveted unrestricted NHL free agent. The centre collected a career-high 87 points (28 goals, 59 assists) in 71 games this past season, adding another 15 points in 16 playoff games.
Despite that success, Kadri remained unsigned for more than a month after free agency opened in mid-July.
His previous six-year deal, which he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, was for $4.5 million a season.
The move is just the latest in a franchise-altering summer for the Flames. After rebounding from a lost season to win the Pacific Division and reach the second round of the playoffs, the Flames unexpectedly lost top scorer Johnny Gaudreau to free agency when he opted to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Not long after that, Matthew Tkachuk informed the team he would not be returning when he hit the free-agent market in 2023. That decision led the Flames to pull the trigger on one of the biggest blockbuster trades of the salary cap era, moving Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for a package centred around star forward Johnathan Huberdeau and defenceman MacKenzie Weegar.
Huberdeau has since agreed to a contract that will keep him in Calgary for the next nine seasons.
Now with Kadri in the fold, the Flames enter the 2022-23 season completely rebuilt but still very much a contender in the Western Conference.
