From ‘gutsy’ to ‘gamer,’ former teammates recall Nazem Kadri's playoff impact Flames
Calgary Herald Headline NewsEmail AddressBy clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails or any newsletter. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.We encountered an issue signing you up.
We know he required surgery. We know he was back in action just two-and-a-half weeks after that procedure. We know that he made an immediate impact, notching the overtime winner in Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning to boost his squad to a 3-1 series stranglehold. “They had to pull the pins out after the playoffs,” Kadri said. “I mean, they were sticking out of my hand by the last game. It wasn’t much fun. But at the end of the day, it was worth it.”Article content“It was big,” said Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor, describing that swollen appendage. “It was massive.”, but it was maybe purple and blue and the nail was falling off,” Johnson recalled. “But I didn’t seek out to look at it too often.
“It was pretty gutsy of him to come back and then to score that huge goal in Game 4, that was something really special.” Kadri, after piling up 87 points during the regular season and coming up clutch in the playoffs, ultimately signed a seven-year, US$49-million contract with the Flames as an unrestricted free agent.As O’Connor summed up: “I’ve always sort of described him as a gamer. I think that’s the best way to put it. Other teams hate him, but he’s a guy you love to have on your team.”