Rumor: Colorado Avalanche to Trade Nazem Kadri

The Colorado Avalanche are reportedly pretty pissed off with how Nazem Kadri stepped over the line and hit Justin Faulk of the St Louis Blues to receive an 8-game suspension. According to a source close to Avalanche operations, the team warned Kadri about his playoff past when they acquired him and now will listen to trade offers this summer.

Kadri has been linked to several teams already, including the Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets. While he sets up nicely as a #2 center, the Wild and Blue Jackets need someone for their first-line and could be a task for Kadri.

The 30-year-old has one season left at $4.5 million and with the contracts coming up for the Avs over the next two summers, it's likely he'd price himself off the team anyways. It makes sense for general manager Joe Sakic to move on from Kadri regardless of the suspensions, but that's made the decision even easier.

Sakic has a history of fleecing other GM's in trades and will look to do the same this summer. We'll all be curious to see how this plays out and if the Avalanche can get by the Vegas Golden Knights. If they can't it's going to come down to depth, and Kadri completely robbed his team of their depth down the middle. 

Pretty wild this is the third Stanley Cup Playoffs Nazem Kadri has hurt his team because of a suspension. If Kadri was a fish, he'd be a sel-fish.

Photo credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports