KADRI COMES FULL CIRCLE, PROVING HATERS WRONG

FAR FROM A ‘LIABILITY,’ HE WAS ESSENTIAL TO COLORADO’S SUCCESS

Nazem Kadri’s thumb, which he had broken three weeks ago, had been causing him so much pain that he couldn’t even tie his own skates during the last three games of the Stanley Cup Final. But after the Colorado Avalanche had won Game 6, he somewhere found the strength to hoist the 34.5-pound trophy high above his head.

“Do you know what kind of adrenalin is going through my body right now?” said Kadri.

It wasn’t just the adrenalin that was fuelling him. Kadri’s motivation was based on something more primal.

As he told Sportsnet’s David Amber and Elliotte Friedman: “For everyone who thought I was a liability in the playoffs, you can kiss my ass.”

It was a comment that seemed directed squarely at the haters, those online trolls who had targeted Kadri with racist comments during the second round of the playoffs. But it also seemed directed toward Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas, who had packaged Kadri to Colorado in a 2019 trade for Alex Kerfoot and Tyson Barrie following back-toback suspensions in the playoffs.

At the time, those suspensions had been blamed for Toronto’s inability to get out of the first round. Looking back, the trade may have also cost Toronto an eventual championship.

After all, Kadri wasn’t a liability. With seven goals and 15 points in 16 games — including an overtime winner in Game 4 that was perhaps the biggest of the cup final — he was essential to Colorado’s success.

“I said what I had to say already, but I love all the people who stuck by my side, all the true supporters, even in the dark times, where there was a few,” said Kadri, who had also been suspended during last year’s playoffs for an illegal hit. “They stuck by my side and knew I’d be the player I am today.

One of those people was Kadri’s father, Sam, who marvelled at his son’s ability to come out on top, even while others were doubting him.

“I think that was kind of like a dark cloud above his head and I think he wanted to kind of remove that,” said Sam Kadri. “He did that. If he hadn’t hurt his hand, I think he would have been able to contribute a lot more. Moving forward, I think everybody’s going to realize he is a playoff performer. And will continue to do so.”

Indeed, these playoffs were a challenge for Kadri. And they weren’t without controversy.

In the second round, he narrowly escaped yet another suspension when he ran into and injured St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington.

That caused St. Louis head coach Craig Berube to reference Kadri’s “reputation” and for so-called Blues fans to target Kadri with online racist comments. It was an ugly couple of days for him and for hockey.

“His personality is what it is, obviously he’s going to antagonize on the ice,” said Sam Kadri.

“I don’t think that incident with St. Louis was his intent to do so. But it just gives you a dose of what’s real out there in the world right now. And it’s sad to see that. I mean, I could respect anybody who says, ‘You’re a dirty player.’ Whatever you want to say about him.

“But when you start bringing in the race card, it’s out of line.”

Kadri turned the hate into motivation, by scoring a hat trick in Game 4.

“For him, I admire him a lot, because anyone else, you can fold under those circumstances,” said Sam Kadri.

“And he decided to do something about it.”

Kadri had a similar response after getting injured in Game 3 of the West final, when Edmonton’s Evander Kane hit him into the boards from behind, breaking his right thumb. The injury should have knocked him out of the rest of the playoffs. But Kadri eventually returned in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, where he scored the overtime goal that gave Colorado a commanding 3-1 series lead.

“I play basketball and my vertical is probably two inches,” said Sam Kadri. “It was four feet that night.”

For Kadri, it was a miracle he was even playing.

“It was terrible,” he said of his broken thumb, which was heavily bandaged and required a modified glove that looked more like Thanos’ gauntlet. “I felt it every single shift. It was tough. I had a little help. I turned a sixweek timeline into two weeks. I couldn’t even tie my skates before the game. The medical trainer tied my skates before every game, so what a war. But nothing is going to stop me from being out here.

“I got some freezing in there too. I can’t really feel it that much. Like I said, I wanted to be in the thick of it. I didn’t want to be on the outside looking in. I dedicated every hour of every day trying to get back to playing and it was great.”

Indeed, as the first Muslim player to win a championship, Kadri’s father said, he wasn’t just playing for himself or his teammates. He was playing for anyone who looked like Kadri and who had felt like they didn’t belong.

“It means everything,” Kadri said. “I never forget where I came from, never forget my roots.”