The Calgary Flames are difficult to figure out right now.
This season, the Flames overachieved by staying out of the Pacific Division basement and being in the Western Conference wild-card race until the end of the year.
Flames GM Craig Conroy has said many times he’s not interested in a full rebuild. But given the moves he made this season to acquire younger players – former Philadelphia Flyers forwards Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost chief among them – it’s clear the Flames are willing to be patient in their approach to building a bona fide Stanley Cup contender. And they’re not yet close to being a lock for the playoffs in 2025-26.
That brings us to the subject of Flames center Nazem Kadri and the current market for a solid second-line center.
The 34-year-old veteran and Cup champion had a solid season for Calgary, posting a career-high 35 goals and 67 points in 82 games. He’s a cost-certain asset for the next four seasons at $7 million per year.
If you’re a team that’s looking for an experienced second-line center, you could do much worse than acquiring Kadri. That is, if he becomes available.
Kadri does have a full no-movement clause at the moment, which changes to a partial no-trade clause next summer that allows him to veto a deal to 13 teams. He’s said before he loves the city and organization, the players have a great time together, and the team never quits. The Flames told teams they weren’t open to selling Kadri or anyone else at the deadline, either, though that was when they were in a playoff push.
But with Kadri coming off a good season, it makes sense for the team to ask him where he’d be open to move to and drum up a robust market for him. Conroy would be selling high by trading him this off-season.
The market for a center like Kadri – with his championship pedigree and snarl –will be extremely limited this summer.
The top prize in that regard is Florida Panthers UFA veteran Sam Bennett, but only one team is going to wind up with him. Another center option just got removed from the UFA market when Kadri’s former team, the Colorado Avalanche, signed veteran pivot Brock Nelson to a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $7.5 million. That means there could be many teams looking for a consolation prize. That’s where Kadri comes in.
If you’re another one of Kadri’s former teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs, it makes a whole lot of sense to pursue him. Kadri never wanted to leave the Maple Leafs when they dealt him to the Avs in 2019, and he said in November he wouldn’t close the door on returning to the Blue & White.
Acquiring Kadri would serve Leafs GM Brad Treliving’s desire to shake up Toronto’s DNA and give them the snot and physical edge they seek.
But the Buds aren’t the only team that should welcome Kadri with open arms. The Buffalo Sabres are trying to (a) desperately make the playoffs and (b) be a tougher team to play against. Kadri would help in both those regards. Other teams – the New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders, among many others – could use someone like him.
That could lead to a bidding war Conroy could use to add long-term pieces of the puzzle for the Flames.
Admittedly, they would take a step back by losing their No. 1 center with nobody else in-house to fill that role effectively. But as they wait for their new arena to be built by 2027, Calgary can afford to be patient and use Kadri to help fill their coffers with draft picks and prospects or a younger center who can work their way up the lineup. By the time the NHL’s salary cap ceiling rises to $95.5 million next year and $104 million in 2026-27, Kadri’s salary will be a solid bargain for any team that acquires him.
Maybe the Flames take the cap space they devoted to Kadri and acquire someone like Anaheim Ducks center Trevor Zegras. Or perhaps Conroy takes that $7 million he was paying Kadri and holds onto it until next summer, when the UFA class will be much more tantalizing. But it’s clearly a seller’s market for hard-nosed players like Kadri that should make Calgary better in the long run.
Even with Kadri in the lineup this year, the Flames weren’t a playoff team. Even with the trades they made, they missed out. Even though they want veterans to mentor their younger players, they still have Jonathan Huberdeau, Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman.
If they wait another year, Kadri’s trade value might not be the same. It’s worthwhile to see if he wants to go to a more competitive team right now, acquire young up-and-comers who will be cornerstone components for the long term and continue to build a young and revitalized Calgary squad.
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