Nazem Kadri opens up about how Kyle Dubas disrespected him and his family while he was with the Maple Leafs

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Aaron
October 24, 2024 (2:44 PM)

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Nazem Kadri has come a long way since his time as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, becoming a Stanley Cup champion with the Colorado Avalanche, and securing a massive contract with the Calgary Flames.

However, for Kadri, this process has not been easy. In his new book, he opened up about the summer after the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, where the Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Boston Bruins, and where he got suspended, leading to an eventual trade.

Initially, he was meant to be traded to the Calgary Flames, however, they were on his no-trade list. Despite this, then general manager Kyle Dubas attempted to capitalize on his fragile family situation, with a new child just days away and tried to pressure him into a deal.

The process reportedly took the following steps: Kadri was called in for a meeting with Kyle Dubas and other Maple Leafs management, told he was part of the future plans, and essentially that he and his wife, who was nine months pregnant, would be staying in Toronto. Out of nowhere, however, Kadri began getting calls and messages from players and executives in the Calgary Flames organization, trying to convince him to waive his trade protection.

Kadri was never told by the Maple Leafs that he was being shopped in the first place and thus used his contractual right to veto the trade. This caused tension between Kadri and his teammates and eventually was moved to the Colorado Avalanche. He would go on to win a cup there, cementing himself in NHL history with his name engraved on Lord Stanley.

Following his time with the Colorado Avalanche, Kadri signed a massive seven-year, $49-million deal with the very team that he refused a trade to in 2019; the Calgary Flames.

With the Calgary Flames now undergoing a retool (despite a strong start to the 2024-25 NHL season), Kadri is involved in trade rumors once again. Whether or not anything will come to fruition is yet to be known, but hopefully whatever process goes down, it is better than what he went through under Kyle Dubas and the Toronto Maple Leafs.