Avalanche center Nazem Kadri was suspended from the Stanley Cup playoffs for eight games Friday night. The announcement came from the NHL’s Department of Plater Safety in the midst of Colorado’s Game 3 matchup against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center.
Kadri, 30, was ejected from Game 2 in the third period after laying out Blues defenseman Justin Faulk with an illegal check to the head. St. Louis scored once on its five-minute power-play advantage, pulling within a goal before falling 6-3, giving the Avs a 2-0 series lead.
It was announced Thursday morning that the NHL offered Kadri an in-person Zoom hearing, which gave them the ability to suspend him for more than five games. His history of playoff suspensions and the severity of the hit played a large part in that decision.
Kadri was traded to the Avalanche nearly two years ago after two consecutive suspensions in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2018 and 2019 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“Players who repeatedly violate league playing rules will be more severely punished for each new violation,” the DoPS said of his suspension.
In 2018, Kadri was handed a three-game suspension in Toronto’s opening round against Boston. Playing against the Bruins again the following year, Kadri was suspended for the remainder of the series at the conclusion of Game 2 for cross-checking Boston’s Jake DeBrusk. The Maple Leafs went on to lose both series in seven games.
This is the sixth suspension of Kadri’s career.
He appeared in all 15 Avs playoff games in 2020, recording a career-high nine goals and 18 points in his first season with Colorado. Kadri also had five game-winning goals and was an integral part of the Avs’ top power-play unit.
After a decent start to his 2021 season, Kadri struggled in the latter part of the season. He has one goal in his past 29 games, which includes the first two games of the series.
Center Carl Soderberg replaced Kadri in the lineup for Game 3.
