Nazem Kadri was an integral part of Colorado’s 2022 Stanley Cup championship, and he’s back with the Avalanche to try to win it again four years later.
Kadri, who left via free agency the summer after Colorado won the title, was acquired from Calgary at Friday’s trade deadline. He is expected to make his return with the Avalanche on Sunday afternoon when they host the Minnesota Wild in Denver.
“We needed a little bit more game-breaking scoring punch we might have missed last year in the playoffs,” star Nathan MacKinnon said after Friday night’s 5-4 shootout win at Dallas. “Once again, our management is going all-in. Obviously, it’s Cup or bust for us.”
Colorado has been in win-it-all mode since last season’s first-round exit and has added pieces it hopes will pay off. Defenseman Brett Kulak was acquired Feb. 24, Nicolas Roy came over in a trade with Toronto on Thursday and he made his Avalanche debut against the Stars and now Kadri is in the fold.
“For me, it’s a very exciting situation,” Kadri said Friday.
The moves, which cost several draft picks along with defenseman Samuel Girard and Victor Olofsson, give the Avalanche depth on their lines. They also help ease the loss of Artturi Lehkonen to an upper-body injury sustained in Los Angeles on Monday night.
Sunday is another big matchup for Colorado. The Avalanche have led the NHL all season but Dallas and Minnesota have surged to close the gap. The Wild, with 84 points, trail Colorado by nine points and have played two more games.
Minnesota made big moves over the past week to bolster its title hopes, making separate trades for defenseman Jeff Petry and forwards Michael McCarron, Bobby Brink and Nick Foligno. The Wild also claimed forward Robby Fabbri off waivers.
McCarron and Brink made their Minnesota debuts in a 4-2 win at Vegas on Friday night. McCarron had a goal and an assist in the victory.
“I was nervous. I had a turnover into a breakaway, so it wasn’t a great first [shift] for me. After that, I got going a little bit,” McCarron said. “It felt good to get a couple of points there. It’s not necessarily what I was brought in here to do but feels good to be rewarded.”
Sunday is the fourth and final game between the Central Division rivals, with Minnesota winning two of the first three after beating the Avalanche 5-2 in Denver on Feb. 26. Matt Boldy collected two goals and two assists in that game and has been on a scoring streak since returning from the Olympics with three goals and seven assists in five games.
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild with 75 points (35 goals, 40 assists) and Boldy has 72 points (35 goals, 37 assists).
MacKinnon continues to play at an MVP level for Colorado. He is second in the NHL in scoring with 103 points (42 goals, 61 assists) while Martin Necas is second on the team with 76 points (28 goals, 48 assists).
