Flames' Kadri gets Stanley Cup ring from ex-Avalanche teammates

All in all, not a bad night for Nazem Kadri.

An assist. A win.

And a ring.

Not the worst opening game for the newest member of the Calgary Flames who received his Stanley Cup ring from his former Colorado Avalanche teammates after besting his former mates on Thursday night.

A night he won't ever forget ❤️ pic.twitter.com/8hQEvbL3Wq

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) October 14, 2022

“You get shivers up your spine and you get the goosebumps,” Kadri said. “It’s just such a special moment. Not quite sure what’s going to happen in the future, but it’s tough to do.

“It means a lot, of course. It’s super emotional. It’s something that’s very difficult to do. You find [out] a lot about your teammates when you’re in that situation and your back’s against the wall, whatever the case may be, deep in the playoffs.

“Obviously there’s no other guys I’d rather do it with and it’s nice to be able to turn the page on the chapter and start fresh with another great team.”

The ring boasts white gold, a total of 669 diamonds, 18 custom-cut genuine sapphires, two round genuine sapphires, and 42 custom-cut genuine rubies. It weighs 18.5 carats.

Kadri had 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 16 playoff games to do his part to earn it.

A few of those memories flooded back to the 32-year-old when presented his ring by Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Erik Johnson, Cale Makar, and coach Jared Bednar.

Understandably so.

“Just talking about the memories and it came with a nice little box and a great video,” Kadri said. “You find out a lot about somebody when you go through four series and you go that far. They’re just real competitive guys and even better people off the ice.”

Nate brought Naz his #StanleyCup ring 🥹

📽️: IG/@Avalanche pic.twitter.com/zXmfXe9uj0

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 14, 2022

Kadri spent three years of his career with the Avalanche from 2019 to 2022, netting 155 points (58 goals, 97 assists) in 178 regular-season games.

Turns out his favourite assist might’ve come from MacKinnon on Thursday.

He’s the one to pass Kadri his new hardware.

“I know it’s for first place and it’s heavy,” said Kadri, who signed a seven-year, $49 million contract with a $7 million average annual value with Calgary on August 18. “It’s exciting. It’s very emotional. A few guys were able to present it to me. It means a lot to me.”

It was on his finger after the 5-2 win.

Where it goes from there is to be determined.

“I don’t know, probably out in the open for a little bit and then maybe I’ll have to secure it in a safe or safety deposit box,” Kadri said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be on my kitchen counter.

“We’ll see, we’ll see. I haven’t quite decided.”

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