{"id":451326,"date":"2026-02-08T16:16:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T16:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/451326\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T16:16:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T16:16:13","slug":"canadiens-showing-interest-in-nazem-kadri-but-theres-a-catch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/451326\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadiens showing interest in Nazem Kadri, but there\u2019s a catch"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The name Nazem Kadri has been circulating quite a bit in the rumors lately, but one element is holding Kent Hughes back.<\/p>\n

Frank Seravalli fueled the rumors by confirming that the Canadiens like the player, but not his contract.<\/p>\n

Nazem Kadri is carrying a seven-year deal at $7 million per season that doesn\u2019t end until 2029. At 35 years old, the veteran is starting to cost a lot for the production he provides.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be honest: the Canadiens already have a much more solid group of centers than at the start of the season. With the arrival of Phillip Danault and the presence of Nick Suzuki, the need for another big center is less pressing.<\/p>\n

Nazem Kadri currently has a stat line of 10 goals and 29 assists for 39 points in 56 games. His -24 plus\/minus with the Calgary Flames also worries scouts a bit.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s admit it, the organization\u2019s interest seems to have cooled off since the beginning of the year. Marco D\u2019Amico mentions that the file quickly went from \u201chot\u201d to \u201clukewarm.\u201d<\/p>\n

A contract that weighs heavily in the balance<\/p>\n

\u201cRe Nazem Kadri\/Canadiens: I think they like the player, I don’t think they’re in love with the contract\u201d<\/p>\n

– Frank Seravalli on Flames Talk<\/p>\n

The Habs currently have no room to maneuver under the salary cap. Absorbing Nazem Kadri\u2019s contract would force Hughes to sacrifice an important asset or a quality prospect like Michael Hage.<\/p>\n

In February, several trades start to take shape, and this could be it for the forward.<\/p>\n

Unless Calgary retains a large portion of the salary, we won\u2019t see Nazem Kadri heading to Montreal anytime soon.<\/p>\n

Kent Hughes likely prefers to shop for an offensive winger or wait until the weekend to evaluate his options.<\/p>\n

In short, the Canadiens\u2019 management will have to make a decision soon, but the salary will definitely complicate things.<\/p>\n

Previously on All Montreal Hockey<\/p>\n

POLL<\/p>\n

3 HOURS AGO|69 ANSWERS<\/p>\n

Canadiens showing interest in Nazem Kadri, but there\u2019s a catch<\/p>\n

Do you think Nazem Kadri would help the Canadiens despite his contract?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images The name Nazem Kadri has been circulating quite a bit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5103],"tags":[26,265,2197,5,1749,264,21,5147,2054,4,3613],"class_list":{"0":"post-451326","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-montreal-canadiens","8":"tag-calgary-flames","9":"tag-canadiens","10":"tag-frank-seravalli","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-kent-hughes","13":"tag-montreal","14":"tag-montreal-canadiens","15":"tag-montrealcanadiens","16":"tag-nazem-kadri","17":"tag-nhl","18":"tag-trade"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116035911528683702","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}