Arizona Coyotes
Surprise Team Expected to Make a Push For Nazem Kadri in Free Agency
There are a number of teams that could be in on Nazem Kadri in free agency, but a surprise team is expected to push hard for the forward.
Nazem Kadri is going to get paid this summer. After a season in which he scored 87 points in 71 games and put forth an incredible effort in the playoffs, he’s one of the more interesting names on the free-agent market this summer. He proved to a lot of doubters that he could be productive in big games and said after winning the Stanley Cup, “For everybody who thought I was a liability in the playoffs, you can kiss my ass.”
It’s not likely the Colorado Avalanche have the funds to keep Kadri, especially considering the other contracts they need to get done. That begs the question, where does he go?
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Nick Kypreos said during his Real Kyper and Bourne Show this week that he thinks the Calgary Flames have Kadri’s number on speed dial in the event that Johnny Gaudreau leaves the Flames. But, Elliotte Friedman points out that Kadri had already shot down a trade to the Flames in the past and it’s not clear where he would stand on revisiting the idea of going there.
Instead, Friedman believes there’s going to be a surprise “team that comes out of there that we’re not seeing right now that is going to be in on Kadri.” He thinks it’s going to be the Washington Capitals. Friedman adds, “If Washington doesn’t think [Nicklas] Backstrom is going to play ever again, I wonder if they take a look at it”.
The Capitals make a lot of sense for Kadri, if Backstrom isn’t coming back. His cap hit would go on LTIR and that’s $9.2 million that gets automatically freed up for the next three seasons. Kadri is going to be looking at just under that and the Caps are a team that will want to stay competitive and like players with skill, who also have a little edge to their game — which Kadri has in spades.
A Real Dark Horse Team?
Kypreos has his own surprise team: “You’re going to be shocked. Arizona. I’m telling you, I’m hearing Arizona wants a run at Kadri because they are desperate to show a fanbase that just because we’re going into this building doesn’t mean we’re not serious”.
Considering the Coyotes haven’t been a team that tends to try and put together the most competitive squad, it’s hard to imagine why they would, all of sudden, abandon their plan to take on bad contracts for draft picks and stay barely above the salary cap floor. Kadri doesn’t fit the model the Coyotes have employed for years now, but they are moving into a smaller arena and perhaps they want to attract fans to the new building.
Kadri’s name has also been connected to the Seattle Kraken, a team many expect to be aggressive over the next couple of weeks. They are one of the few teams with plenty of cap space to sign a big-contract player like this and the willingness to potentially overspend to land him.
Next: Multiple UFAs Eyeing Oilers as Possible Free Agency Landing Spot
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