Kadri making rookie linemates feel at home with Flames 

EDMONTON -- Nazem Kadri has found a home with the Calgary Flames, and he’s helping his two rookie linemates do the same.

The 33-year-old forward leads Calgary in scoring with 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists) in 58 games and has been a positive influence on forwards Connor Zary, 22, and Martin Pospisil, 24.

Kadri scored the opening goal for the Flames in a 6-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Saturday. He has six points (four goals, two assists) in his past three games. Pospisil also scored on a setup from Zary, who had two assists in the win.

“He’s so skilled and plays so well and he demands the puck through the middle and that’s made it easy for me to come in and know where he is and where he wants the puck,” Zary said. “(Chemistry) didn’t happen right from the first shift, but over the first couple of weeks, it’s gotten better, and we just kept building on that. He’s obviously having a really good year and he’s been really good for me and Pospisil, and it’s been great so far.”

Kadri signed a seven-year, $49-million contract ($7 million average annual value) with Calgary on Aug. 18, 2022, coming off a career season with the Colorado Avalanche. He had 87 points (28 goals, 59 assists) in 71 games for Colorado in 2021-22 and 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 16 playoff games, helping the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup.

In his first season with Calgary, Kadri had 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists) in 82 games.

“Just being able to get acclimated, figuring out your living situation and taking care of your family, I think you push all that stress aside in your second year you have everything figured out and know the city a little better,” Kadri said. “The guys have been great and I’m definitely feeling right at home.”

Kadri has been the driving force for the Flames this season and is pulling his linemates along for the ride. Zary has 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists) in 48 games since becoming a regular in the lineup two weeks into the season. He was selected by Calgary in the first round (No. 24) of the 2020 NHL Draft. Pospisil has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 42 games and was selected by Calgary in the fourth round (No. 105) of the 2018 NHL Draft.

“One thing with Naz, he’s been consistent with who he is,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said. “He’s been known to be an agitator and a worker and that’s what we’ve gotten from him this year. I think he’s taken it to another level because the guys he’s playing with, he feels a sense of responsibility in helping to bring them along. He puts a little more pressure on himself to make sure he’s at the right place to show his linemates how he has to be each night, so he’s been really good for us that way.”

Kadri can be as demanding of his linemates as he is of himself. The three have developed a good rapport and have been one of Calgary’s most effective lines this season.

They are a big reason the Flames (28-25-5), despite trading away forward Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 1, are still in the thick of the Stanley Cup Playoffs race, entering their game against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, BSW) they are five points behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild card from the Western Conference.

“They’re just willing to get better, willing to learn, which is always nice,” Kadri said. “They bring that enthusiasm to the rink every day and have that young energy and it’s been a good mix so far. I feel like I’m not that old anyway, but it’s nice when you have a couple of guys that want to get better each and every day. They’re smart players too, so they can figure it out on the fly.”

As first-year NHL players, Zary said he and Pospisil will take all the feedback Kadri offers, even if at times it can be critical.

“For sure, he wants to be the best and he demands the puck, and he demands a lot of himself,” Zary said. “I think the same goes for us, he wants us to be at our best and he even from his perspective, he wants us to do well. I think if we’re going, it’s going to help him. I think he pushes us to try and be at our best so it helps.”

The Flames trust Kadri to push the right buttons with the two young forwards and have seen the rapid development of the two playing alongside the savvy veteran.

“They have good dialog between them and with Naz when you get to know him a little bit, sometimes he understands when there is a pat needed and, ‘OK you can make that play,’ and other times, ‘Don’t make that play,’” Huska said. “That’s what makes Naz, Naz and those guys have really bought into what he’s selling as a line.”

Kadri was selected in the first round (No. 7) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2009 NHL Draft. He spent his first nine seasons in Toronto before traded to Colorado on July 1, 2019.

Calgary signed Kadri to help fill the void left by the departure of forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau following the 2021-22 season. Kadri has so far lived up to expectations, particularly this season.

“I feel like I’ve been doing that right from opening night,” Kadri said. “Obviously, I have the experience to understand what it takes to be consistent and just try to bring it as much as I can for my team because I know I can contribute and make a difference in hockey game.”