Flames Should Do Everything Possible to Move Kadri to Maple Leafs

Though Kadri has gotten off to a slow start by his standards in 2024-25, he remains a very capable top-six NHL forward. Many teams would love to have him on their roster, and according to several reports as of late, the Toronto Maple Leafs are one of them.

My colleague Spencer Lazary wrote a column roughly two weeks ago about a report from former NHL general manager (GM) Doug Maclean stating that the Maple Leafs have interest in a Kadri reunion. Jeff Marek has since joined in on the conversation, reporting the exact same news.

“I have a hard time believing that somewhere down the road the Maple Leafs don’t make a pitch for or have a conversation about Nazem Kadri of the Calgary Flames,” Marek said on The Sheet. “It was a great start for the Calgary Flames, but I think we all know where the Flames are. I think we all know where the Maple Leafs want to be. And I think that they’re looking at the Florida Panthers and saying, if we’re going to get out of this division, we have to go through them and we need more toughness and more toughness down the middle. I really do wonder if there’s a conversation about Nazem Kadri and the Toronto Maple Leafs.”

Flames Have Great Opportunity to Remove Pricey Contract

As mentioned, Kadri signed a seven-year deal with the Flames prior to the 2022-23 season. The deal remains on the books through 2028-29. To this point, the 929-game veteran has lived up to the deal, though it isn’t one that makes a ton of sense for the Flames to hold onto given where they currently find themselves as an organization.

The good news for the Flames is that they don’t have to move Kadri. He is still a very good NHL player, and helps serve as a leader to the organization’s young talent. At this point, his $7 million cap hit isn’t an issue whatsoever. By the end of the deal, that could be a different story.

Kadri is what most consider to be old in today’s NHL at the age of 34. Despite his early struggles this season, it isn’t fair to suggest that he’s past his peak given what he provided in 2023-24. That said, he will be 38 years old heading into the final year of his deal, where he will almost certainly be a lesser player, perhaps even a far lesser player.

You can understand why there is interest in him, particularly from the Maple Leafs. He plays a hard-nosed style of hockey which they lack, and won a Stanley Cup in 2022 with the Colorado Avalanche. That winning experience would be huge for a team that has had well-documented playoff struggles under their current core. The fact that he also has experience playing with that current core group adds even more intrigue.

There would be plenty of risk for the Maple Leafs to add Kadri, as well. For similar reasons to the Flames, his contract could get ugly over the next couple of years. The Maple Leafs also don’t have the luxury of cap space as the Flames do. Nonetheless, it appears that there is serious interest from their front office, and the Flames would be wise to make a move with them.

Return Shouldn’t Matter to Flames

Given the fact that Kadri is the Flames’ best forward, some fans may think that in order to move him, a big return would be needed. His loss would certainly hurt the team in a negative way right now, but it’s important to remember that this organization isn’t in win-now mode. They are far more focused on the future.

Moving Kadri’s contract out with zero retention, even if it means a minimal return, would help their future tremendously. Not only would it increase their odds of selecting higher in the first round of the next few drafts, but it would also open up even more cap space to help bring in some key free agents whenever GM Craig Conroy believes it’s the right time to do so. Assuming the interest is in fact legit, the Flames should be doing everything in their power to ship out Kadri’s contract while it still has value.