Kadri shares thoughts on Flames' trade of Toffoli
Calgary Flames forward Nazem Kadri was in a downtown Toronto hotel room when he heard the Tyler Toffoli news.
After two seasons with the Calgary Flames, Toffoli was sent to New Jersey yesterday in exchange for forward Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round pick in this year’s draft.
“Obviously, it’s unfortunate. Toff’s a great player, wish him nothing but the best moving forward,” Kadri said in an interview with Daily Hive. “The team felt like that was the best decision… hope he does well.”
Toffoli had put up 45 goals and 51 assists in 119 games for the Flames over the past two seasons after coming over from Montreal in February 2022.
Toffoli has one year left on his contract at a price of $4.25 million with the ability to extend his deal as of July 1st, but felt like Calgary didn’t see him as part of their long-term future.
“I was waiting for an extension conversation and there was none coming and didn’t feel like there was one in the future,” Toffoli said yesterday of why he put in a trade request. “It didn’t sound like there was any sort of need for me, or want in a way, so it was a personal decision. I thought it was time for myself and my wife to experience something different and move forward.”
Back in his home province of Ontario for some summer training, Kadri made a stop at the Joe Carter Classic, a celebrity golf tournament run by the Toronto Blue Jays legend in support of Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada.
For the Flames’ new general manager Craig Conroy, all attention is now on the draft, getting underway tonight in Nashville.
Kadri knows as well as anyone the hoopla around getting picked by a Canadian market, having been selected seventh overall himself by the Toronto Maple Leafs back in 2009.
“It’s one of the best days ever,” Kadri said about being drafted. “Just embrace it. Embrace the moment. I think sometimes the nerves can get the best of you and you don’t really enjoy it to your best capability just because you’re so worried about everything on the outside.”
Having been traded himself from the Leafs to the Colorado Avalanche in 2019, where he eventually won the Stanley Cup in 2022, the 32-year-old expressed gratitude for the various stages of his career.
“You just mature and develop and you understand what to do what not to do and you learn from experience,” Kadri said. “I think there’s no simulation for practice, for going through something… I think it makes you a better person, a better player.”
For Calgary fans, they got a bit of a glimpse into their past and present yesterday, with Kadri’s former Leafs teammate and Calgary’s first-round pick in 2003 Dion Phaneuf sharing a photo of the two of them and Toronto defenceman Morgan Rielly catching up over dinner.
time to party like it’s 2013 🎉
📷 dionphaneuf pic.twitter.com/wpvh5mStYy
— katie (@itsmitchmarney) June 28, 2023
“It’s incredible,” Kadri said. “Anytime you have former teammates, you get to link up and kind of catch up. I always enjoy those times seeing guys that I haven’t seen in a while.”
As for Kadri’s focus after getting off the golf course? Well, it’s all about getting ready for the 2023-24 season, with Calgary’s home opener against the Winnipeg Jets on October 11 just 105 days away.
“[I’m going to] get on the ice, get ready for next season,” Kadri said.
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