'Still got it': Kadri bright spot and role model for Flames

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If there wasn't all the focus on the future, without all the excitement about future players, there would be more buzz about what Nazem Kadri is currently doing for the Calgary Flames.

Only in the early stages of a rebuild is the team leader a secondary event.

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Kadri, 33, has compiled the second-best stat line in his 14 campaigns in the NHL spotlight.

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“Still got it,” a smiling Kadri told Postmedia ahead of the trip. “It's been tough too, just the way the season has gone and the rollercoaster ride and dealing with so many moving parts on the team. It certainly wasn't easy, but I'm proud of the fact that I tried to trust my teammates and that's what always motivates me.

“Even though I'm getting old, I still want to keep learning and I feel like I can keep getting better.”

If you walk around the Flames locker room, you'll hear a lot of talk about learning and getting better.

However, these stories are usually about children. Everyone wonders what guys like Matt Coronato, Connor Zary and Dustin Wolf will gain from late-season practices. How do you fast-track their development, knowing that they must have key pieces on the other side of this retool?

A good start for the youngsters would be to pay close attention to Guy #91.

It's not just that Kadri tops the team's standings with 68 points in 77 games so far – a mix of 26 goals and 42 assists.

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His pivotal role in the 2022 Stanley Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche isn't just because he understands the secret to spring success. (Although his most memorable moments came in May and June, he scored 87 points that winter, a career best that will be hard to top.)

Because when you watch Kadri, you wonder if the veteran center heard the Flames were out of playoff contention.

He's determined to be a difference maker in these meaningless matches, and that makes him the perfect role model for a roster that currently consists of seven rookies.

“I think no matter where you are in the standings, the mindset you have going into a hockey game is important,” Kadri said. “You don't have to change your attitude and that's what we try to preach to them. You have to take your best and continue to walk with pride.

“That's the culture we're trying to create here. Of course, it's different situations, but if you treat every game as a big game, you're going to show up in the big games.”

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Unfortunately, it's not the big games, but Kadri continues to shine.

Here's a look at his performance in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime win at San Jose…

He scored the equalizer on a second-period power play, a close-range snapper that rattled Mackenzie Blackwood's left ear.

Early in the sudden-death session, he played deftly, preventing Yards forward Justin Bailey from even getting off a shot that started as a partial breakaway.

On that shift, his hustle led to another man-advantage — Kadri is now tied for fourth in the NHL in penalties — and he started a net-forward scramble that led to Andriy Kuzmenko's game-winner. (In six games on Kadri's wing so far, Kuzmenko has scored 11 points. Wow. Kadri has an eight-point streak in that same span.)

“Nothing's going to change for me,” Kadri told Sportsnet in San Jose during a break. “I've been in this game a long time, I've been around good teams and I understand what I have to do every night for that consistency. I hope it goes away.”

It should.

What better example than a long-time high performer, a guy who has been Calgary's most consistent threat since October's scoring streak, smidge through the youth movement they're playing the road now?

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The Flames continue their road trip on Thursday when they take on the Kings in Los Angeles (8:30 p.m. MT, Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 the Fan). Kadri will skate in his 900th NHL game on Friday when they complete the road in Anaheim. He is signed until the end of 2028-29, so he should add more to that number.

“Can you believe it?” It's crazy,” Kadri said of the upcoming period. “I am very happy and blessed to be able to do what I love. I still have the same passion for the game as before, and I think I have a few more games left in the tank.

“I feel great, man. I feel like I'm still getting better.”

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