BREAKING: Nazem Kadri Signs with New York Islanders

It has been a long offseason for the New York Islanders faithful but a signing has been made official. The top remaining free agent, 2022 Stanley Cup winner Nazem Kadri, is heading to Long Island as he inked a seven-year deal worth $49 million dollars on X.

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The 31-year-old Nazem Kadri is fresh off a career season with the Colorado Avalanche, as he netted 28 goals and 59 assists in 71 games played. In 16 postseason games, Kadri notched seven goals and eight assists, including the Stanley Cup Game 4 overtime winner.

NYI Hockey Now has reported for months that Nazem Kadri was Long Island bound, as New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello needed to move around a few pieces in order to be comfortable, salary cap wise, to make a signing of this magnitude.

There has been no official announcements as of yet as to who is on the move.

During the offseason, teams can go 10 percent over the salary cap as long as they are compliant by the start of the 2022-23 season.

The positional circus will now begin, as newly appointed head coach Lane Lambert will have to decide on how he wants to rework the center position.

Nazem Kadri plays the center game well, and it’s likely that he will stay up the middle. Brock Nelson, coming off a career year with 37 goals, could move to the win given the fact that he has played the wing before and has no issues shooting the puck.

Mathew Barzal, despite not shooting the puck enough, has the creativity, speed, and skill to benefit from a move to the wing, which would allow him to not focus on the defensive side of the puck nearly as much.

But at the end of the day, the New York Islanders landed a big fish in Nazem Kadri. A proven winner, a player who plays a gritty brand of hockey, a player that no one likes to play against but everyone likes to play with.

The New York Islanders are in win-now mode and regardless of how you view the roster, Nazem Kadri makes this team stronger as we gear up for the 2022-23 season.