With a sparkling “1,000” diamond pendant dangling from his neck, a gift from his teammates, Nazem Kadri couldn’t stop smiling post-game on Wednesday as reflected on his 1,000th-career NHL game, a 5-1 Calgary Flames victory.
“So nice to have the family around and just experience what I went through today and to have them by my side, that’s what it’s all about. It was a very special day for me,” said Kadri. “I tried to just soak in every single minute.”
The evening began with his daughter coming into the dressing room and reading the starting lineup.
“It’s nice that now [my wife and daughter] can understand what I go through on a daily basis,” said Kadri. “It’s not that easy to be in front of everybody at all times, but that was probably the highlight of my day. Her reading the lineup.”
When warm-up began, it was an unexpected solo lap.
“That came as a surprise to me,” said Kadri. “I hadn’t been on the ice like that alone in a long time. I think I missed my first three shots on net. I didn’t even hit the net.”
Then there was the touching pre-game ceremony in which Kadri was joined on the ice by his wife, his daughter, and his parents.
“That video tribute, it almost made me cry, to be honest with you. It was tough to hold it together,” said Kadri, who is the 407th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 games.
Then came the awarding of the traditional silver stick, followed by Blake Coleman presenting his daughter with a silver mini stick.
“That’s probably what I was most excited about is they get a hold of that thing, and it comes with your pattern and everything, so it was an exact replica of my stick,” said Kadri. “That’s something unique, and that’s something that’s going to be displayed at the Kadri household.”
The Scotiabank Saddledome was still buzzing from the ovation Kadri received when Calgary erupted for two goals in the opening 92 seconds — the tenth-fastest two goals to start a game in franchise history.
Morgan Frost deflected in a Jonathan Huberdeau shot at 56 seconds. On the next shift, Coleman notched his team-leading sixth goal.
“Extra special,” said Kadri, asked how special it was for his big night to come in a win. “Just the way the team came out on fire, you could tell that we wanted this one, and I’m so appreciative for the guys around me wanting to maximize how special this day was for me, and understand the magnitude of how special it was.”
Leading 2-1, Kadri’s goal at 7:47 of the second period on a slick pass from Joel Farabee was the first of two goals in 37 seconds — the other off the stick of Adam Klapka — that was a back breaker for the visitors as suddenly the Flames led by three.
“To score a goal in your 1,000th game. I mean it doesn’t get much better than that,” said Kadri. It’s not that common either. He’s just the 61st player to score a goal in his 1000th game. Of the 13 players to have reached that mark in a Flames uniform, he’s only the second to score in his milestone game, joining Martin Gelinas (Dec. 9, 2003).Kadri being in the centre of the game’s decisive moment was no surprise to Ryan Huska either.
“We always talk about him being a gamer and when the stakes are higher, somehow in some way, shape, or form, he shows up on a score sheet with a fight or a hit or whatever the case may be. So you had a feeling that he’d be involved,” said the Flames coach. “Whenever we need something, he’s typically one of the guys that does it for us.”
Kadri signed with the Flames in the summer of 2022 after winning the Stanley Cup the previous spring with the Colorado Avalanche.
It was a memorable run for him as he piled up 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 16 games, including the clutch overtime winner in Game 4, which gave the Avs a 3-1 series lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning. They would go on to close out the series in six games, ending Tampa’s bid for a third straight Stanley Cup.
A free agent that summer, he signed a seven-year, $49-million US deal with Calgary.
Kadri has made an impact since his arrival, leading the team in scoring the past two seasons — including a career-best 35 goals last season — and he’s atop the club’s scoring list again this season with 11 points (four goals, seven assists) through 15 games.
While he hasn’t missed a game in his three-plus seasons with the Flames, he also hasn’t had the opportunity to play in a playoff game.
It’s going to be a tough climb this season, too. Despite winning consecutive games for the first time and improving to 3-2-1 in its last six, Calgary remains last in the league’s overall standings.
