The last time Nazem Kadri Laced up the skates in game action, he finished the night with a swig from Lord Stanley.
Even in the preseason, it’s hard not to get jacked up and dream of that moment. On repeat.
Tonight, the journey begins again.
“It’s exciting,” Kadri said following Wednesday’s morning skate. “This is the time of year when you kind of get the itch and are excited to get back into things. The whole routine, the day, just kind of prep yourself. It’s always exciting when it’s game time.”
Kadri will make his Flames debut tonight, at center, with Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman on his wings.
While the usual disclaimer still applies – it’s ‘only’ preseason, after all – Kadri can’t help but feel the competitive fire fueling back up after last year’s thrill ride with the Avalanche. The fact that the Flames’ biggest rival, the Oilers, are in to mark the occasion, only adds to the excitement.
With close to 10 years in the Maple Leafs organization, the 31-year-old is no stranger to these classic, Canadian rivalries.
And he expects the Battle of Alberta will easily live up to the hype.
“Hey, it’s a rival,” he said. “You learn that pretty quickly when you get here. Those are going to be important points throughout the course of the season.
“It’s exciting for me. You don’t want to be playing six, seven, eight (exhibition games). Maybe two, three, four is OK. But, it’s an opportunity to kind of re-charge. The last game was a Pretty memorable one for me, so it’s nice to get back in the swing of things and tighten up the routine.
“It’s hockey season again.”
Video: “It’s always fun when it’s game time”
Kadri, who signed a seven-year, $49M free-agent contract with the Flames in August, is coming off a career season. In 71 regular-season appearances, he put up 28 goals and 87 points – smashing the point-per-game barrier for the first time in his 700-plus game career. He followed that up with an impeccable playoff performance that saw him return from a nasty thumb injury and perform at an elite level, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Certainly, that made for a short summer – especially when you consider the various after-parties, parades and the pièce de resistance, his personal day with the Cup back home in London, Ont.
But he also made time to give back to the city that raised him.
Kadri made history by bringing the trophy to the London Muslim Mosque, before making a landmark $1M donation to the London Health Sciences Centre.
That’s the player and person the Flames have, as Kadri puts it, “welcomed with open arms.”
“Them guys that have won championships have a real broad spectrum of what it takes,” said Head Coach Darryl Sutter. “They have the ability – because of how hard it is to win – they have a good grasp on putting the team first, which is something that’s really important for a lot of our players.”
It isn’t a reach to say that tonight, in many ways, is the start of a new era for the Flames – preseason or not.
With Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar All in the lineup together for the first time, fans will get a close-up look at what their ‘new’ squad looks like.
As for no. 91, he’s already making his mark on the locker-room.
“I’m in it and I’m leading the way,” Kadri, a diehard Miami Dolphins fan, said of the team’s infamous fantasy football league. “I think I’m having a pretty good year so far. I’ve always been a big football fan.
“It’s opportunity, also, to get in with the guys and have some similarities and something to talk about. … All the leaders on this team and all the guys in general have been great. We all kind of hit it off and enjoy being around. that chemistry off the ice is certainly important before you step on the ice.
“I’m excited about my start.
“But it’s only three games in, so I don’t want to quit too prematurely yet.”
One step at a time.
Just like the journey that awaits Kadri and the Flames this year.
.