"For Everyone Who Thought I Was A Liability In The Playoffs, You Can Kiss My Ass" -- Nazem Kadri Can Now Talk That Shit All He Wants
Bruce Bennett. Getty Images.If there's anything we learned last night it was the fact that Nazem Kadri was never actually a problem in the playoffs, the problem may have simply just been that for the majority of the year he was playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs. The guy was suspended for 3 games in the first round of the 2018 Playoffs against Boston after boarding Tommy Wingels, Toronto ended up losing that series in 7 games. He was suspended for the rest of the series again against Boston in the first round of the 2019 Playoffs after cross-checking Jake DeBrusk, and again the Leafs lost that series in 7 games. Even after he got traded to Colorado, it took him a while to get that Toronto stink off of him. So he was suspended for 8 games in the first round of the 2021 Playoffs against St. Louis after drilling Justin Faulk in the head. The Avs would go on to win that series, but Kadri's playoffs were over because they then went on to lose to Vegas in the 2nd round on the 8th game of his suspension.
So up until this year, Nazem Kadri had been to the Stanley Cup Playoffs 5 times and had been suspended during a series which his team ended up losing on 3 of those occasions.
Sure, Nazem Kadri used to be a piece of shit. But people can change. And in this year's Stanley Cup Playoff run for the Colorado Avalanche, we saw the biggest change of all. You think about the shit that Kadri had to overcome during this stretch. The racist threats from St. Louis fans after Kadri's collision with Jordan Binnington in the 2nd round. Being ruled "likely out for the remainder of the playoffs" after being on the receiving end of a brutal boarding from Evander Kane against Edmonton in the WCF, and having to get surgery on his thumb after the injury he sustained on that hit. Then coming back in game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final to score the overtime game winning goal to give the Colorado Avalanche a 3-1 stranglehold on the series, and then last night capping it all off by turning his life's dream in to a reality.
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It doesn't matter who you are or what you think of Nazem Kadri. Because we live in a world where fact is king. And the fact right now is that Nazem Kadri is a Stanley Cup Champion, and nobody can ever take that away from him. Liability? You can go ahead and pucker up those lips while you deliver a smooch to his rear end.
Off the ice, on the ice, in some of the most clutch moments. Naz did it all these playoffs and he's earned every right to talk that shit all he wants. Oh and by the way, the reports are that Kadri could hardly even tie his own skates after that thumb surgery. So if you ever wanted to know if the saying about the Cup "it weighs 37 pounds, except when you're lifting it" is true? I think Kadri confirmed it for us. Awesome moment.
P.S. -- Can't wait for Auston Matthews to finally get his first Cup with wherever he signs his next contract.