Flames sign top free agent Nazem Kadri to seven-year contract

Shortly after the news broke, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that the seven-year pact carries a $7 million AAV.

Kadri, 31, was an unrestricted free agent after finishing up a six-year contract with a $4.5 million cap hit. He originally signed that deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who drafted him seventh overall in 2009, but he was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche partway through it along with Calle Rosen and a third-round pick for Tyson Barrie, Alex Kerfoot, and a sixth-round pick.

Kadri is coming off a career year in 2021-22, with 28 goals, and a career-high 59 assists and 87 points in 71 games, the first time he’s scored at more than a point-per-game pace in a season. He continued that play into the playoffs, with seven goals, eight assists and 15 points in 16 games for the Avalanche on their run to the Stanley Cup.

It was a strong year at both ends of the ice for Kadri, as he played well defensively for the Avalanche, even when he was thrust into the top center role when Nathan MacKinnon was injured throughout the season. He finished the year with a 58.01 percent shot attempt share and 54.91 percent expected goal share at even strength, numbers that should carry over to Darryl Sutter’s system in Calgary.

The Flames have had about as busy and chaotic of an offseason imaginable. It’s not often a team can come out of a summer where its two best players left via free agency and/or a trade and still look like a strong team, but Calgary did just that. The Flames took a seemingly unwinnable situation with the Matthew Tkachuk trade request and turned it into Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar, along with a first-round pick and a prospect. They lost the consensus No. 1 UFA in Johnny Gaudreau but signed arguably the No. 2 UFA on the market in Kadri.

They might not be done either, as reports say that they are looking to move center Sean Monahan to help make cap room for this signing.