Despite Flames' loss, Kadri's passion is part of solution, not problem

CALGARY — You could see Nazem Kadri’s temperature rise at every step.

Clipped in the face by a passing Jack McBain, the blood dripping from his face as he picked himself off the ice did nothing to draw a penalty.

Enraged by the oversight, the stickless centre soon made a beeline toward Logan Cooley for a hit along the boards that drew an interference call despite the puck arriving at exactly the same time.

It started the sort of slow burn that used to get Kadri in trouble as a young Maple Leaf.

It got worse.

Quickly.

After Cooley, of all people, scored a minute later, there was Kadri, pointing out his blood on the ice for officials as he exited to the penalty box.

His next shift started at centre ice with what he was sure was a slew foot from Liam O’Brien.     

“I think so, that’s how I felt,” said Kadri.

“I probably wouldn’t just fall on purpose.”

Following a gritty shift full of give-and-takes with O’Brien, Kadri’s ongoing dialogue with the men in stripes ended with a ten-minute misconduct that sent him (and O’Brien) down the hall for a breather.

By the time he returned early in the third, a 2-2 game had turned into a 4-3 deficit his club would not recover from.

No, this is not the type of column written so many times before by Toronto scribes, eviscerating young Kadri for crossing the line at some pretty key times in Leafs lore.

This is more to point out that the version of Kadri Calgary inherited two summers ago is a much more mature, controlled player than his reputation suggested he’d be.

“It doesn’t happen often,” said Ryan Huska of his top centre’s ten-minute timeout.

“I’ll take that Naz every day of the week.

“I think this is the first time I remember during his time here that he’s been given a 10-minute misconduct.

“You don’t like to lose him. I don’t like that trade-off, for sure. Naz is a guy we lean on in all those different situations.

“But Naz is a passionate player and I would take that any day of the week.”

Able to refine his game and rein in his emotions in Colorado where he was a key piece in the Avalanche Cup run, he was signed in Calgary for seven years and $49 million to help a team that felt it was a few pieces away from being a contender.

Things changed quickly once he arrived, and he suddenly found himself on a team in the midst of a radical retool. 

Many wondered if he’d ask for a trade.

Instead, he pledged to be part of the solution, playing a key leadership role in the development of rookies Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil last year while leading the team in points.

He has helped set the standard in Calgary as one of the team’s most important players again this year, playing a leading role on a team on the fringe of a playoff race no one thought possible.

His play, his leadership, have been exemplary.

He hasn’t tried to dig his way out of town, he’s just dug in.  

He’s mature enough to know his team needs him on the ice.

“Probably,” said Huska, when asked if age has played a role in Kadri’s evolution.

“You grow up a little bit, and I think when you watch Naz play the game he’s still fiery.

“He gave out some hits and took some at the same time.

“I think he probably has a pretty good understanding of when to cross it and not to cross it.”

Upon his return to Thursday’s game, he was still the biggest threat to tie it before Utah scored an empty netter to win 5-3.  

On the night he had six shots on goal, an assist on Blake Coleman’s power-play marker and was 70 per cent in the faceoff circle.

His chemistry with Jonathan Huberdeau the last month has been key to helping the low-scoring Flames keep pace.

None of this is to suggest he was happy after the game or was willing to let the officials off the hook.

However, he did it diplomatically, and with a shrug.

“I got a ten-minute misconduct for talking and got two minutes for hitting — I’m not really sure what was going on out there,” said the man with 14 goals and 27 points.

“But I guess you’ve got to fight through it.”

Something he knows plenty about.