It’s been a bumpy ride at times during his career, but on Wednesday night, Calgary Flames forward Nazem Kadri added another individual milestone to his hockey resume, fitting for his 1,000th career NHL game.
A career that started as a confident – and sometimes stubborn – boy. Kadri was drafted seventh overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2009 and fought his way into an NHL spot. He played one game for the Maple Leafs in 2009-10, making his NHL debut, but didn’t really get a taste of the show until 2010-11, when he suited up for 29 games during the regular season.
Nine seasons later, Kadri was a tough penalty-killer who was adept at getting under the skin of his opponents – and sometimes the officials on the ice. Still, he became a productive part of the Maple Leafs lineup with two 30-goal seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
Kadri reached the top of the mountain in Colorado
Still, suspensions in the playoffs ultimately caused the Maple Leafs to pull the trigger move the veteran forward on July 1, 2019, trading him to the Colorado Avalanche, where he spent three seasons further perfecting his craft.
The trust remained, but the maturity continued to grow. It was in Colorado that Kadri became an essential part of a core that also included Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar – a core that would win the Stanley Cup in 2021-2022.
That season, Kadri scored a career-high 87 points in 71 games, including his fourth career 20-goal season. Even while injured in the playoffs, Kadri scored seven goals and 15 points in 16 games, playing a key role on the road to Stanley Cup victory.
Kadri made the bag safely in Calgary
From the Cup victory to a parade in his hometown of London, Ontario, Kadri became the first Muslim-born player to win the Stanley Cup and signed a long-term deal with the Flames who returned to Canada to continue his impressive career.
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Once again, Kadri has been relied on as a leader and key offensive role player since joining the Flames. With three straight seasons of scoring 20 goals, including a career-high 35 in 2024-25, the 35-year-old continues to build a strong individual career – in addition to the team accolades.
Now, Kadri has become the 411th player in NHL history to play 1,000 games in the regular season, and he has done so despite many setbacks. He is also only the 38th active player to reach the milestone and, by all appearances, has a lot more hockey ahead of him.
As for his 1,000th NHL game, he finished the game with a goal in a 5–1 win over the Blue Jackets for his Flames, becoming only the second Flames player to score in his 1,000th career game. The other was Martin Gelinas in 2003.
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