Nazem Kadri take a shot at Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan after winning the Stanley Cup

PUBLICATION

C. Ritchie
June 27, 2022 (8:34)

SHARE THIS STORY

Nazem Kadri was originally drafted and played his entire career, up until joining the Colorado Avalanche, with the Toronto Maple Leafs. While in Toronto he was often used as a scapegoat for their playoff woes. In the 2018 playoffs Kadri received a three-game suspension, and in the 2019 playoffs he received a 5 game suspension. That following off-season the Toronto Maple Leafs traded Kadri to the Colorado Avalanche. But even in Colorado the playoff suspensions did not disappear and during the 2021 playoffs he received an eight-game suspension.

This season, Kadri took his game to another level and set a career-high in points. Then when the playoffs started everyone wondered what thing Kadri would do to get suspended. Instead he played some of his best hockey of his career before being knocked out with a thumb injury.

But Kadri managed to recover from thumb surgery in order to return to the lineup by Game 3 of the finals. After winning the Stanley Cup, Kadri decided to send a message to everyone who doubted him.

For everyone that thought I was a liability in the playoffs, you can kiss my ass.

Nazem Kadri took multiple major steps this year in re-writing how his career will be perceived. Hopefully he can continue on this trajectory and keep proving the doubters wrong.