Flames' Nazem Kadri proving to be more than just a top scorer

ANAHEIM – Don’t tell Nazem Kadri these are meaningless hockey games.

There’s too much work to be done in Calgary for him to look at games that way.

Especially when Friday's game was. No. 900 of his career.

Kadri marked his milestone evening with the type of night he’s made a habit out of this year, scoring once, adding two assists, drawing a penalty and continuing to set the sort of standard the organization is trying to establish moving forward.

“No better way to draw it up,” smiled Kadri, who eclipsed 70 points for the second time in his career in a 6-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.

“Hitting that mark is pretty special, and to do it with a great group of guys means a lot to me. Certainly a night worth celebrating.”

The coach has called him the team’s emotional leader.

The Rookie Whisperer, or Mr. Everything works too.

It’s Kadri who has helped rookies Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil become every-day NHLers, offering his skills and endless guidance to help them become organizational revelations.

It’s no coincidence Andrei Kuzmenko’s red-hot play over the last eight games comes with Kadri as his centre.

Kuzmenko’s second career hat trick Friday gives him eight goals and six assists in eight games alongside Kadri.

“Ever since we put them together, Kuzy’s found his game – a lot of that credit goes to Kads,” said coach Ryan Huska of his centre, who is three goals short of his third 30-goal season. 

“He’s earned the accolades of a good leader on our team, especially with the young guys. He’s done it right.

“We talked this morning about what he means to this group right now and how he’s taking a lot of pride in pulling people along with him and that’s what I like to see about him.

“It’s nice to see him get rewarded for his 900^th game with a nice offensive night, but for me it’s about the work that he’s been doing with Connor when he was playing with him and Pospisil as well.”     

Don’t be fooled by Kadri’s carefree attitude in front of the media, as he’s been a model of consistency all season long, providing the youngsters and newbies with a perfect template on how to approach the game.

Touted for years as one of the NHL’s best second-line centres, as he proved while helping Colorado to a Stanley Cup in 2022, it’s almost like he’s now hellbent of showing he deserves higher billing than that.

Since Elias Lindholm was traded, he’s done well to prove he can be a top middleman, even at age 33.

And it’s provided the type of template he hopes youngsters and newbies learn from.

“That’s what it really comes down to, you can’t really hold somebody to a standard that you’re not following yourself,” said Kadri.

“I’ve learned that over my years. You’ve got to practise what you preach.

“That’s what most guys respect, is guys that show up night-in and night-out and you earn the respect of your teammates, your coaches and your organization.”

While the snarl that puts him on the edge, and sometimes over it, isn’t quite as evident, no one should mistake that for being someone who doesn’t care.

The alternate captain leads in so many other ways now, even if he doesn’t get the credit he deserves for it.

On Friday, Kadri helped set the tone early in a game the Flames led 4-0 after two periods, which included a slump-busting beauty from Zary, who got his first in 19 games.

After the Ducks gave their fans life with three straight goals in the third, Kadri was a big part of the insurance marker on the power play with a net-front presence that may or may not have seen him tip a Kuzmenko shot.

“That’s not his first career hat trick is it? If it is, I didn’t touch it,” laughed Kadri of the Russian, who now has 21 on the season.

“His second? I don’t know. Maybe I did.” 

Kuzmenko wasn’t worried about it.

“Hat trick is hat trick, no hat trick is not a problem,” chuckled Kuzmenko, who was asked about the important role Kadri has played in his surge in offence.

“I like this guy. Every time he help me on the ice. It’s very important for me because he give me belief (in) myself.”