Avalanche Evening Report: Still Waiting on Kadri

I’m sorry. I still don’t have a deal to announce between the Avalanche and Nazem Kadri. I’ll take the blame if that helps. I take the blame for everything else, lolololol.

There has been a pretty good cone of silence from both parties in the last day or so, at least on my end. Usually, I think that’s a good thing. My experience has always been that it’s the quietest right before a deal happens. But the Kadri situation has been different than normal.

Almost always, the top available UFAs go quick on the first day. It’s the middle-class guys who have to wait a while sometimes. Nazem Kadri obviously is part of the upper class of players.

Until I hear anything different, I still believe it’s the same situation as I’ve said. I think the Avalanche are in the driver’s seat on getting Kadri back. The Avalanche are the defending Stanley Cup champions and Denver is a great city to live. There’s your best selling point to the Kadri camp.

What we don’t know, however: How serious are any other potential suitors? And how many of them are there? I don’t really buy into the idea that some other suitor is going to up their offer much. I highly doubt any other team is trying to clear cap room to make any signing official.

My sources continue to say the Avalanche is the only real team trying to clear cap room to make this thing happen. I don’t know why the Avalanche don’t just make the signing official, because any team can go 10% over the $82.5 million cap until the final day of training camp. But, maybe it would hurt trade negotiations if you sign Kadri and go over the cap. Why not just let the Avs stay over the cap, if you’re a competitor and have to make some forced decision they don’t want to make?

Beyond this, it’s been quiet in the last 48 hours. Maybe that’s a…good sign?