Nazem Kadri shares dark secrets on suspension history

Colorado Avalanche fans might be worried about what Nazem Kadri can do during the postseason, but the forward shared a moving text on the Players’ Tribune, in which he revealed dark secrets about how he dealt with previous suspensions during the playoffs particularly when it came to last spring’s incident against the St. Louis Blues.

Kadri was suspended eight games for an illegal check to the head against Blues defenseman Justin Faulk in Game 2 of the Ads’ first-round series last year. He missed the rest of the series against St. Louis (a sweep by the Avalanche) but also the entire second-round battle against the Vegas Golden Knights, which ended in elimination in Game 6.

He opened up about the incident, and the aftermath and how he shouldn’t be expected to find himself in the same situation this postseason.

“I hate letting people down, I really do,” he wrote. “And when I looked up from the ice and saw Justin lying there … I knew what was coming. I knew. When I was sitting in the penalty box, my mind was just spinning. I was frustrated with myself, with the situation. I wanted to be anywhere else. It was a bang-bang play and I made a mistake. I’m never trying to hurt anyone out there. I know people might not want to hear any of this, or they’ve already made their minds up about me. I get that.”

Kadri revealed that he didn’t sleep for a week and struggled with anxiety.

“I watched us struggle in the next round against Vegas, and it killed me. At night I was anxious, I was restless. I wanted to be out there. I live for playoff hockey,” he said. “I sat at home and watched us lose our second-round series.”
This suspension came after he was ssuspended in back-to-back first-round series against the Boston Bruins, first in 2018 for boarding Tommy Wingels (three games), and then a year later a dangerous crosscheck to the head of Jake DeBrusk saw him sidelined the remainder of the 2019 series.

“When I hit DeBrusk in Boston, I never thought that would be the last time I’d wear a Leafs jersey,” wrote Kadri. “I think about that moment from time to time because, yeah, I wish my stick hadn’t got that high — but that play? That’s who I am. I saw a cheap hit on one of our leaders, and that doesn’t get to happen on a team I play for. I’ll always stand up for our guys. But I crossed a line — again — and I let our guys down. And I can see now that, at the end of the day, it was time for a fresh start.”

We can see how Colorado has been good for Kadri scored 28 goals and a put up career-bests in assists (59) and points (87) to help lead the Avalanche as the best team in the West.

On Tuesday, the Avs crushed the Nashville Predators 7-2 to take the series lead and will look to go up 2-0 when they meet again Thursday. And so far, Kadri hasn’t crushed anyone and is looking to stay in this one.