‘A chip on my shoulder’: Nazem Kadri working to shed past playoff reputation

When Nazem Kadri came to Colorado from the Toronto Maple Leafs last summer, he brought some baggage with him.  

And the “baggage” I’m referring to is more than just his equipment and personal luggage. This baggage comes in the form of a reputation that has preceded him in the past, especially come playoff time. That reputation of Kadri’s was well-perpetuated by the oft-blinding spotlight of Toronto and its insatiable, bemoaning mediascape that comes with the territory up there. 

Things feel a bit different for Kadri so far in the early parts of his first postseason in Colorado, and he’s tried to silence many of his doubters throughout the season. But if you listen close enough, you can still hear the faint chatter that emanates from his old home in the self-proclaimed “hockey capital of the world.” He hears it. He knows it. Now he feels he has something to prove.