[Sandman]

Originally Posted by stemit14

I do wonder what the flames could hypothetically get if they retained say $2.5 million on Kadri. Not saying it’s a pressing thing to do as he is playing really well with the kids. Just wondering if there is a desperate team out there with a window to win that is only 3-4 years and doesn’t really care about the consequences of his long contract after that… it’s how most people justified the original signing of Kadri. It just turned out that the team went the other direction and is now about to enter a rebuild.

Some examples that come to mind off the top of my head are Colorado, Carolina, Florida, Pittsburgh, Boston, and Tampa Bay. Not saying all/any of those teams would be interested… just that those teams are basically all-in on a win-now window that could close in 3-4 years.

I know it’s very unlikely flames ownership would ever retain that much for that long on a player… but, hypothetically, if they did and the flames were to trade him before the TDL while he is playing as well as he has been… what do you think they could get for him at $2.5 million retained? That put’s his cap hit at $4.5 million/year for the next 5 years after this one. Does that make him worth a late first round pick? Or is it still a salary dump that the flames would have to add just to get rid of him? I don’t know.

I think your best bet to get Kadri traded would be in season while he’s playing well. In the offseason… GMs will look more at his age and his contract and start to assume he could immediately decline. This season, at least at the moment, he looks good. You might entice a GM with a team that is at the top of their division to go for it right here, right now. Honestly, if I had to pick a team, I could see Boston going for it. Their first round pick will likely be late anyways so they might be willing to part with it.

Can’t say I’d eagerly want to trade him because he seems to do well with Zary… but that’s really the only good reason I can think of right now considering where the flames are headed. And I don’t really know if that would be a good enough reason to walk away from a chance to gain a good pick while shedding salary.

I could see Colorado going for Kadri. He worked so well on that team, and was fantastic in their Cup run. Can't imagine how the salary would fit though.