While Mikko Rantanen was helping Dallas take a 2-1 series lead over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, Nazem Kadri chimed in with his thoughts about his former teammate.
Rule number one : You always keep the dawgs … #96
— Nazem Kadri (@43_Kadri) May 11, 2025
“Rule number one: you always keep the dawgs …. #96,” his post on X/Twitter read.
Kadri was, of course, referring to the trade that shipped Rantanen out of Colorado in January. Rantanen was his teammate when the Avs won the Stanley Cup in 2022 in what was arguably the most talented roster we’ve seen in the salary cap era.
Entering unrestricted free agency that summer, Kadri, who had a career year before his historic run in the playoffs, didn’t end up re-signing with the Avalanche following a summer of celebrations. Instead, Kadri locked in a seven-year, $49 million contract with the Calgary Flames. The Avs tried to keep him, but couldn’t make the money work. After signing Artturi Lehkonen, Josh Manson, and Valeri Nichushkin, there wasn’t much left to keep the fan favorite.
Kadri waited more than a month before signing. His first choice was to stay with the Avalanche — the flat cap made it tough.
All these years later, I wonder if there was more to Kadri’s post yesterday.
On one hand, it’s obvious that he’s rooting for his former teammate and good friend. Kadri and Rantanen are good buddies to this day and still keep in touch. But, was there an extra bit of shade being thrown at Avs management for not keeping him, too?
After all, Kadri is the second-line center that got away. The Avs have tried time and time again to pay a wealth of assets to replace him, but haven’t yet succeeded.
