Breaking: Nazem Kadri Traded Back to the Colorado Avalanche

The biggest trade of an otherwise quiet deadline day has gone down: Nazem Kadri has been sent from the Calgary Flames back to the Colorado Avalanche.

More than an hour after 3 p.m. EST, all was quiet in Calgary and Montreal, which had many connecting the dots on Kadri to the Canadiens, though it happens to be a return to Colorado after all.

---

Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman broke news of the blockbuster deal on X (formerly Twitter).

“Nazem Kadri back to the Colorado Avalanche,”

Friedman has since reported that it will be Kadri and a fourth-round pick in 2027 going to Calgary in exchange for a package that includes Victor Olofsson, Max Curran, a first-round pick in 2028, and another second-round pick in 2027.

GM Craig Conroy and the Flames are retaining 20% of Kadri’s $7 million average annual salary, which puts him at a $5.6 million cap hit for the Avalanche.

The 35-year-old is in year four of said seven-year, $49 million contract he signed to join the Flames in free agency of 2022. He’s tallied 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) through 61 games played in Calgary this season.

Kadri spent three seasons in Colorado, which included a career-best 87-point (28 goals, 59 assists) 2021-22 campaign, which, of course, ended up being capped off by winning the Stanley Cup.

GM Chris MacFarland has revamped his team’s forward group in recent days by landing both Kadri and Nicolas Roy, somehow making the number one team in the NHL even more dangerous than they already were.

Calgary, meanwhile, continues its teardown, having moved arguably its three best players — Kadri, MacKenzie Weegar, and Rasmus Andersson — all in the span of two months.

Next: Alex Ovechkin Hit Hard by John Carlson Trade, Calls It ‘Saddest Day of Career’