MEMBER
  MEMBER
SEARCH
ADS

Kadri's discipline issues have cost his team a longer postseason run once again

Published June 11, 2021 at 12:40
BY MIKE ARMENTI
The Colorado Avalanche have failed to get it done once again in the postseason, coming up short against the Vegas Golden Knights and blowing a 2-0 series lead, losing their second round series 4-2 thanks to a 6-3 loss in Game 6 on Thursday in Las Vegas.

While winning and losing are both team efforts, it's very difficult to look at the actions of Nazem Kadri in the Avs' first round series against the St. Louis Blues and not place a lot of the blame for Colorado's lack of success in round two on the reckless center.

Kadri caught Blues defenseman Justin Faulk up high with a blindside hit in Game 2 of their first round meeting, promptly earning himself an 8-game suspension, which he appealed twice, unsuccessfully.

The 30-year-old forward has now been suspended in 3 of the last 4 postseasons and has been forced to be nothing more than a bystander, watching from the stands in two of the last 3 seasons while his respective teams were eliminated from the playoffs, thanks at least in part to Kadri's undisciplined behavior and poor decision-making.

ADS

So what do you do, if you're Avs GM Joe Sakic? Clearly Kadri has not learned his lesson and clearly the NHL's Department of Player Safety views Kadri as a problem and a player they have no issues making an example of.

Just as Leafs GM Kyle Dubas did in 2019, I fully anticipate Sakic attempting to move Kadri in the offseason, if for no other reason than that you simply cannot afford to play a guy who has shown his inability to play on the right side of the line. It's bad enough if a player can't control himself during the regular season, but when he isn't able to play a disciplined game in the postseason, that's where it really starts to hinder a team's ability to make a deep run - especially when a team's 2nd line center is so vital to any potential postseason success.

The main issue here is that Sakic may be forced to take a loss in any deal involving Kadri, due to his current value being at an all-time low after his latest indiscretion.

Kadri has one season remaining on his current deal, carries a $4.5M cap hit and has a 10-team no-trade clause in his contract, which may only further hamper his trade value, as he has the ability to block a trade to a team on that list as he did a few seasons ago when the Leafs attempted to trade Kadri to the Calgary Flames.

This one is a tough situation all around for the Colorado Avalanche. I simply do not see Kadri in an Avs jersey when the puck drops to open the 2021-22 season.
ADS
RELATED ARTICLES
ADS
MARKERZONE.COM - COPYRIGHT @2024 - ALL RIGHT RESERVED.
TERMS      POLICIES      CONSENT