DENVER – Adrienne Ruth wanted to let Nazem Kadri know that she and all the Colorado Avalanche fans were behind her and decided to do something about it.
Ruth, an Avalanche season ticket holder, painted a sign with a personal message for the striker and printed 300 pamphlets at her local Office Depot that read “Stand With Naz” for Game 5 against St. Louis. Louis Blues at the Ball Arena on Wednesday.
Signs were placed in the seats before the game, and fans held them during the 5-4 loss in overtime. They were Ruth’s response to the taunts and threats directed at Kadri after match 3 of the series in St. Louis. Louis on Saturday.
In that game, the Blues goalkeeper Jordan Binnington was injured in the lower body at 6:45 of the first period after being knocked down by his teammate Calle Rosen and Kadri, who skated hard to get a rebound. .
“After everything that happened before Game 4, I was upset,” Ruth told NHL.com on Thursday. “I usually have a poster for Naz for most games, so I knew I would have something [for Game 5]and I had some people in the Avs community who contacted me and asked, “Do you have any ideas?”
Ruth’s personal poster read: “The ultimate measure of a person is not where they are in times of comfort and convenience, but where they are in times of defiance and controversy. #StandWithNaz” It’s a slight reworking of a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. .
Kadri had his first Stanley Cup Playoff hat-trick in Game 4, a 6-3 victory for Avalanche on Monday.
“We take seriously the threats made against any of our players or other members of the club’s staff,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told TSN’s Darren Dreger on Monday. “We are in contact with the St. Louis Police Department and they are using improved security procedures in both the arena and the hotel.”
The Avalanche leads the series to the best of 7 3-2 ahead of the 6th game in St. Louis. Louis Friday (20:00 ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS). With a victory, they would reach the conference final for the first time since 2002.
Ruth, who also makes and sells avalanche-related products through Etsy, said Kadri’s wife, Ashley, contacted her, thanking her for her support.
“I met her. I told her, ‘I’m thinking of doing this, so you know,'” Ruth said. “She said it was amazing to see.”
Ruth said the overall response has been “phenomenally positive”.
“To quote Naz, for those who hate, there will still be haters. There will still be those who disagree, who do not understand or try to talk about something else, but with a very small voice.” she said. “I will say that even with the devastating defeat (in Game 5) I woke up with a pretty full heart. Our news cycle is full of bad guys. It’s nice to see how goodness makes the news cycle.”