Nazem Kadri finally found his new home on Thursday, cashing in on a seven-year, $49-million contract with the Calgary Flames.
Kadri was by far the biggest fish remaining in free agency, coming off an All-Star year that saw him register 28 goals and 59 assists in 71 games for the Colorado Avalanche. The 87 points he tallied blew away his previous career-high of 61 as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016-17.
The 31-year-old center was a key contributor during Colorado’s Stanley Cup run, recording 15 points in 16 games to shed his reputation as a playoff liability. He suffered a thumb injury in the Western Conference final but returned in Game 4 of the championship series, scoring a controversial overtime winner in that contest.
Signing Kadri was the latest move in what has been a tumultuous offseason in Calgary. First, the Flames watched franchise winger Johnny Gaudreau bolt to Columbus in free agency. Fellow star forward Matthew Tkachuk then informed the club he wasn’t interested in singing long-term, prompting a blockbuster trade to the Florida Panthers that sent Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar to Alberta.
Flames general manager Brad Treliving quickly signed Huberdeau to an eight-year contract extension before dropping significant cash on Kadri, shipping forward Sean Monahan to the Montreal Canadiens in the process to clear cap space.
So how does Kadri’s new deal look in the greater NHL landscape? With an average annual value of $7 million, the London, Ont., native finds himself in pretty good company among centers.
Contract comparables:
$8,137,500: Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
$8,000,000: Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks
$8,000,000: Matt Duchene, Nashville Predators
$8,000,000: Ryan Johansen, Nashville Predators
$8,000,000: Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils
$7,950,000: Josh Norris, Ottawa Senators
$7,875,000: Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens
$7,800,000: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals
$7,750,000: Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers
$7,500,000: Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
$7,250,000: Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils
$7,150,000: Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes
$7,142,857: Kevin Hayes, Philadelphia Flyers
$7,000,000: Nazem Kadri, Calgary Flames
$7,000,000: Anders Lee, New York Islanders
$7,000,000: Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
$6,500,000: Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues
$6,500,000: Claude Giroux, Ottawa Senators
$6,300,000: Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
$6,125,000: Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
$6,100,000: Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
$6,100,000: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
$6,000,000: Brock Nelson, New York Islanders
Have your say:
After seeing where Kadri slots in among his peers, what do you think of his contract?
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