Avalanche, Stars to battle for trade for $7 million Flames forward before deadline originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars both believe they have great teams.

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Before Friday’s NHL trade deadline, they’ve got the chance to make them even better — but they might be going after the same player from the Calgary Flames.

That guy is Nazem Kadri, who has been listed in trade rumors for most of the season. He’s due $7 million per season through 2028-29, so he’s not a rental.

Kadri has plenty of postseason experience, and he’s still a productive player, although certainly not at his peak any longer.

For Daily Faceoff, Carter Hutton got the chance to share his thoughts on where Kadri might end up. He landed on the Stars, and if not Dallas, then Colorado.

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“Nazem Kadri was a pick that for me, I think for him when I look at Nazem Kadri, he’s a guy that goes down to Dallas, right?” Hutton said on Daily Faceoff Live. “I think Dallas potentially is a team where they add a piece like Kadri. And obviously if they can make the numbers work and where it’s at, I know they’re limited to what they can do. They have the Jason Robertson contract looming, you know, what does that become? What I do love about this is the fact that Dallas is always there. I feel like Jim Nill always has a little bit of something up his sleeve and he continually creates a good team. And I think for Nazem Kadri, if it’s not Dallas, then it’s Colorado because this guy wants to win. And I think he knows that the Central Division is where the Stanley Cup is coming through this year.”

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The Minnesota Wild are also in the Central Division, but they appear to be making moves elsewhere after already getting Quinn Hughes earlier in the season from the Canucks. So Kadri likely won’t go there.

But to Dallas or Colorado? A Kadri move could have an outsized impact on the Western Conference if those indeed are the two teams bidding for him in the end.

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