I think people forget that a $7 million salary in today's NHL is not the same as a $7 million salary a decade ago or 5 years ago or even 2.5 years ago when Kadri signed his deal. Is he overpaid right now? Perhaps you could make that argument, but even if he is, it's not by a whole lot anymore.
And if in 2-3 years we're looking to trade him, the cap will likely be over $100 million, or very close to it, at that point. The average NHL salary will be almost $4.5 million. You're telling me that contenders wouldn't want a player like Kadri for 1-2 years if he continues putting up 60ish points a season? We should easily be able to get a good return for him even without retention if he maintains decent production and if you do retain around 25%, all of a sudden he's pretty close to the average NHL salary which makes him a very attractive commodity even in his mid 30s.
The only way I see Kadri's contract being an anchor and untradable as he gets older is if his game absolutely tanks or if injuries rear their ugly head. Anything can happen but the argument here assumes he stays healthy and maintains decent-to-good production.
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