In what looked to be a pretty quiet deadline day for the Avs, as they had already gotten most of their business taken care of in the weeks and days leading up to the deadline, they managed to get a deal into the queue before the official cutoff to bring home a very familiar face and one of the biggest names on the trade market for this deadline: Nazem Kadri.
This is the big trade that Avs fans have been talking about wanting to happen leading up to the deadline, and Colorado actually managed to pull it off. Kadri is and has been a fan-favorite player for years and years now, and of course, was a massive part of the 2022 Stanley Cup-winning team. Calgary did retain 20% of Kadri’s AAV for the remainder of his contract in this deal as well, which brings his contract down to $5.6M through the 2028-29 season. This means that the Avs were actually able to make the money work, especially with big financial commitments looming, such as Cale Makar’s extension.
In the biggest deal of the day and perhaps of the entire trade deadline period, thr Avalanche give up a conditional 2028 first round pick, a conditional 2027 second round pick, depth forward Victor Olofsson and unsigned prospect Max Curran. We previously discussed how with Curran electing to go to college as a 2024 draftee his rights likely wouldn’t not extend and is a good candidate as a trade chip. The Avalanche will have to address the opportunity cost of dwindled assets at next years trade deadline but this is a fair price to pay and even hints at Calgary doing Kadri a favor with this deal.
The 35-year old center is having a slight down year, with 12 goals and 29 assists in 61 games for the Flames so far. That said, Kadri will undoubtedly have a better supporting cast in Colorado compared to Calgary and should be more than fine playing and producing on this team.
Ultimately, I don’t know how you feel anything other than great about this move. As I said, Kadri has been a fan-favorite player for years and years now, and people have wanted him to come back to Colorado since he signed in Calgary in the 2022 offseason. Now, he’s back and gets another chance to chase another Stanley Cup. I think I speak for a lot of Avs fans when I say I’m so excited for him to be back, and I’m extremely excited to watch this team after the deadline for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. It’s going to be a ton of fun.
