Kadri working on discipline to be 'that guy' for Avalanche in playoffs
Forward hoping to learn from past postseason suspensions to help Colorado win Cup
So it was particularly timely when the center posted a
2,000-word piece in The Players' Tribune on Wednesday
. The Avalanche lead the Nashville Predators 1-0 in the Western Conference First Round. Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is at Ball Arena on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; TNT, SN360, SNE, TVAS, ALT, BSSO).
The Avalanche were leading the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first round last season when Kadri hit defenseman Justin Faulk at Ball Arena in Game 2, receiving a match penalty and an eight-game suspension for an illegal check to the head.
"I didn't sleep for a week straight after I hit Justin Faulk in the playoffs," Kadri wrote. "I hate letting people down. I really do. 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 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."
RELATED: [Complete Avalanche vs. Predators series coverage]
The suspension was Kadri's third in the playoffs, and the previous two also came early in the first round. With the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kadri was suspended three games for boarding Boston Bruins forward Tommy Wingels in Game 1 in 2018 and for the remainder of the series for cross-checking Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk in Game 2 in 2019.
The Maple Leafs went on to lose each of those series. The Avalanche went on to sweep the Blues last season, but then they blew a 2-0 lead and lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games. Colorado, which had won the Presidents' Trophy for finishing first the NHL in the regular season, lost in the second round for the third straight season.
"I watched us struggle in the next round against Vegas, and it killed me," Kadri wrote. "At night I was anxious. I was restless. I wanted to be out there. I live for playoff hockey. I sat at home and watched us lose our second-round series."
In a nuanced piece that touched on different aspects of his life and personality, Kadri wrote about his admiration of late NBA star Kobe Bryant and desire to be "that guy," a difference-maker on a championship team. In the context of this playoff run, perhaps this was the key paragraph:
"The player I am -- the one who gives everything, who plays with an edge, who still pretends he's Kobe out there -- I'm still that guy," Kadri wrote. "That part of my game that walks the line, it'll always be there. It's how I got here. It's how I proved to [former Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke] that I could play in this league. But I know I have to adapt too. I have to mature. It's something I work on all the time. I think I've shown that this year."
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said he had not read Kadri's piece, but he gave his thoughts after that paragraph was read to him.
"I think it's more than just this year for the maturing of 'Naz' and his game and his discipline," Bednar said. "I think he's worked extremely hard at controlling his emotions and biting his tongue at times, really trying to put the team first. I think in the past, maybe Naz had let his emotion in the game … He plays the game with passion and emotion, and he let it get the better of him and took some bad penalties here and there. And I feel like not communicating with the refs as much as he used to, really trying to be a disciplined player, is a big one. Also the consistency in his game, it has to have a physical presence to it. It's been highly effective."
Kadri set an NHL career high with 87 points (28 goals, 59 assists) in 71 games this season while accruing 71 penalty minutes. He had an NHL career-high 97 penalty minutes in 51 games in 2019-20 and 34 penalty minutes in 56 games last season.
"For me this year, it's just being able to play a game with grit and passion and emotion on a nightly basis for him, so his skill can shine through, and using the physicality to help let his skill shine through, but yet doing it without taking a lot of penalties," Bednar said. "In my opinion, [he] should probably be drawing a few more penalties than he does. So I think that it's for him now a desire of wanting to win and help our team and understanding how huge of a role that he plays in that with the Avs this year."
Kadri had one assist in the Avalanche's 7-2 win in Game 1 on Tuesday, coming back after missing two practices with an illness. He also took a hit from Predators forward Luke Kunin at the end of the second period and kept his cool. Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson took a roughing penalty; Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen and Predators forward Philip Tomasino each received a misconduct.
"This is an example of what I'm talking about with Naz staying disciplined and playing through it," Bednar said. "He's aware of his reputation that he had, and he's worked hard to change it. And it's not easy. It's not easy to change your reputation. So Naz is going into that pile, and Kunin basically runs him right over, so Manson runs over Kunin, and Manson gets the penalty. No penalty on Naz …
"Naz just happened to say, 'OK, I get it. Didn't get the call, and I've got to move on and go play.' And he's done a nice job of turning the page and staying in the moment, staying present, to be able to continue to help us as the game goes on instead of getting frustrating and taking a penalty."
If Kadri can do that as the series goes on, as the playoffs go on, he could be "that guy" he wants to be. That could help the Avalanche become the team they want to be. After setting team records for wins (56) and points (119), Colorado feels it's time to win the Cup.
"His game has gone to a new level on the offensive side," Bednar said. "I believe that's because his game's gone to a new level on the defensive side of the puck. And then the physicality that he's played with, the discipline that he's played with, and most importantly the consistency in which he's kept those levels so high all year, he's having a career year.
"And I mean, we missed him last year in the playoffs, and this year he could be a huge difference-maker for us or a huge factor in our success. I think he understands that. Our whole team understands how big of a playoff season this is for us, and Naz is a huge part of that."
