Flames deal star centre Kadri to Colorado in move to rebuild roster, contend
CBC
Rising across the street from the Scotiabank Saddledome is the partially built future home of the Calgary Flames.
As construction continues ahead of the scheduled opening of Scotia Place in the fall of 2027, general manager Craig Conroy continued his reconstruction of the club's roster on Friday, making three deals ahead of the NHL trade deadline.
The headline move was trading No. 1 centre, Nazem Kadri to the Colorado Avalanche, where the native of London, Ont., won a Stanley Cup in 2022.
"I was over in the new building the other day thinking it won't be next year, but the year after, we're going to be there and I want to be on that upswing, where we're pushing to make the playoffs," said Conroy.
"I think we're on the right path, but I think you have to be patient. We wish we could do it faster. Speed it up as quick as we could, but it does take some time."
Also going to the Avalanche is a 2027 fourth-round pick. In return, Calgary gets forward Victor Olofsson, the rights to unsigned draft pick Max Curran, a conditional 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick.
The 35-year-old Kadri, who led the Flames in scoring with 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) through 61 games after scoring a career-high 35 goals last season, is under contract with a $7-million salary cap hit through the 2028-29 campaign. Calgary will retain $1.4 million of that salary.
"Nazem's one of those guys that you really like. He was great though the whole process, too. He's a competitive guy. He wants to win at his age. He wants another opportunity. For him to actually be able to go back to Colorado, I think it's kind of a dream come true probably for him," said Conroy.
"For us, we knew where we're going and with his age, this is something we needed to do."
Add in the recent departures of veteran top-four defencemen Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar, and it's a clear indication the Flames (24-30-7), who woke up Friday morning second-last in the NHL's overall standings, are in a rebuild.
"The reality is we're not good enough," Conroy said. "It's about getting this organization back to where we want to be consistently and that's all we've ever wanted to do."
He knows there will be growing pains as the club commits to injecting younger players into the lineup and increasing the responsibilities of others, but it's the direction the club needed to go.
On the verge of missing the playoffs for a fourth straight year, Calgary has only reached the second round of the playoffs twice since 2004 when it lost to Tampa Bay in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.
"You're going to have young guys and they're still going to need a little time. But you see (Matvei) Gridin and (Zayne) Parekh here right now, they're going to make mistakes. That's OK," said Conroy.
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