For Kadori, the practice of 'patience' has paid off and she says she won the factors to join the Flames

Nazem Kadri said he expressed interest the moment the Calgary Flames became him. Although he was an unrestricted free agent, it was an "elaborate process" before finally signing at the dotted line on Thursday.

"Perseverance has certainly benefited me some," Kadori told reporters on a Zoom call on Friday.

The Flames' wild offseason took another dramatic turn Thursday when the team signed the coveted free agent to a seven-year, $49 million deal. rice field.

Before the deal was finalized, Calgary sent Sean Monaghan and a conditional 2025 first-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens to create salary cap space in Kadri's deal. Asked for future consideration.

"That's one of the reasons he's taken so long," said Kadri from vacationing Paris.

Kadri, 32, was one of the biggest names free agency could earn after his All-Star season in Colorado, which ended with the Avalanche winning Stanley his Cup.

Returning to Canada, where his NHL career began, in state rival Edmonton, he took advantage of participating in the "Battle of Alberta" with the Oilers to help the Flames. It was an advantage of contracting with But what ultimately led him to sign was how close he felt the team was to winning the Stanley Cup. and that was a big factor in coming to Calgary," Kadri said. “Now is the time, and with the moves we have made and my participation, we can definitely get closer.” In his 71 games he scored 87 points (28 goals, 59 assists). He added 15 points in 16 playoff games, including the overtime winner in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final against Tampa Bay.

Western In the third leg of his conference final, he made his comeback after being injured after being hit from behind by Edmonton forward Evander his Kane.

The addition of Kadri capped off a wild offseason for the Flames that saw star forward Jonny Gaudreau leave in free agency.

Godreau, the Flames' top scorer last season (115 points) and league MVP Hart his trophy finalist, said he would not re-sign with the Flames before his agency period begins. was notified. A flame of desire to be closer to home.

The New Jersey native signed his seven-year, $68.25 million contract with the Columbus Blues Jackets when his agency was launched on July 13.

Calgary have since been informed that forward Matthew Tkachuk, who had a breakout season scoring 42 goals and 104 points, will not sign a contract extension beyond next season.

What appeared to be a potential nightmare for Calgary was that forward Jonathan, whose Flames scored 115 points last season, was sent to Florida for a package that included Huberdeau and defenseman Mackenzie his weeger. It started to turn around when I handed out Tokachuk to

Flames then locked Huberteau long-term in an eight-year, $84 million contract extension.

"Losing a player of that size is scary for everyone," Kadri said. "But I think Brad [Flames GM Brad Treviving] has done a great job getting some returns and valuable players." This isn't the first time I've tried to add to . The Flames tried to acquire him from the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019, but Kadri used the no-trade clause in his contract to deny the deal. Kadri was then traded to Avalanche on July 1, 2019. "It had nothing to do with the City of Calgary or any organization. I just wanted to stay where I am.

It's important to me.I always admired Calgary and the city of Canada so I think it's important.I'm a Canadian boy.I love playing in Canada but it sure is ironic

Kadri was the 7th overall pick from Toronto in the 2009 NHL Draft, appearing in 739 games for the Maple Leafs and Colorado. , with 512 points (219 goals, 293 assists).

The London, Ontario native has yet to spend a day in the Stanley Cup, but plans to bring it home.

He also said he intends to bring it to Toronto, where he spent his first eight seasons in the NHL.

"I've grown a lot in that city, too." There was a lot of support there," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 19, 2022.