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The Calgary Flames have not tasted Stanley Cup Playoff hockey since the late Johnny Gaudreau’s dramatic Game 7 goal in the 2022 Western Conference Quarterfinal against the Dallas Stars sent them to the second round against the Edmonton Oilers, a series they eventually lost in five games.
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Months after that series, the Flames went through a series of major changes. Gaudreau departed via free-agency, signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Not long afterward, the Flames executed a monumental trade, sending Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers in return for Jonathan Huberdeau, Cole Schwindt, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, and a 2025 first-round pick.
Since then, Tkachuk and the Panthers have gone to three straight appearances in the Stanley Cup Final, winning the most recent two. Meanwhile, the Flames have yet to play beyond the 82nd game of the regular season.
As part of that monumental summer of change, the Flames signed veteran forward Nazem Kadri, who had just helped the Colorado Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup win since 2001 weeks prior, to a seven-year, $49 million contract.
The Flames, who will soon officially be eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention, already made one major trade in recent weeks by dealing veteran blue liner Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights. And while other figures on the Flames could soon be on the move, the one player who needs a fresh start is Kadri.
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Nazem Kadri signed with the Flames in 2022
Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Fresh off helping the Colorado Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup victory since 2001, Kadri agreed to remain in the Western Conference but move north of the border, inking a seven-year, $49 million deal with the Flames.
Taken with the seventh overall selection in the 2009 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kadri would play the first 10 years of his career with the team. He was then traded to the Avalanche in July of 2019 in a blockbuster deal that brought Tyson Barrie, Alexander Kerfoot and a sixth-round pick in 2020 back to the Leafs.
Related: NHL rumors: Nazem Kadri would welcome a Flames trade. Is Avalanche reunion in cards?
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