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June 27, 2022 • 9 hours ago • 4 minutes of reading • 28 comments June 26, 2022; Tampa, Florida, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri celebrates with the Stanley Cup after the Avalanche game against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the sixth game of the 2022 Stanley Cup final at the Amalie Arena. Photo of Geoff Burke / USA TODAY Sports
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TAMPA, FLA. – Nazem Kadri’s thumb, which had broken three weeks ago, had been causing him so much pain that he couldn’t even tie his own skates during the last three games of the Stanley Cup final. But after the Colorado Avalanche had won the sixth game, he found somewhere the strength to lift the 34.5-pound trophy above his head.
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“Do you know what kind of adrenaline is going through my body right now?” said Kadri.
It wasn’t just the adrenaline that fueled him. Kadri’s motivation was based on something more paramount.
As he told Sportsnet’s David Amber and Elliott Friedman, “For everyone who thought it was a responsibility in the playoffs, you can kiss me.”
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It was a comment that seemed aimed directly at haters, those online trolls who had targeted Kadri with racist comments during the second round of the playoffs. But it also seemed aimed at Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas, who had packed Kadri in Colorado in a 2019 exchange for Alex Kerfoot and Tyson Barrie after consecutive playoff suspensions.
By then, those suspensions had been to blame for Toronto’s inability to get out of the first round. Looking back, the change could also have cost Toronto a possible championship.
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After all, Kadri was not a responsibility. With seven goals and 15 points on 16 points, including a win in overtime in Game 4, which was perhaps the biggest in the Cup final, it was essential to Colorado’s success.
“I already said what I had to say, but I love all the people who stayed by my side, all the true followers, even in the dark times, where there were a few,” said Kadri, who he had also been suspended lately. the playoffs of the year for an illegal hit. “They stayed by my side and knew I would be the player I am today.
One such person was Kadri’s father, Sam, who marveled at his son’s ability to come to the fore even while others doubted him.
“I think it was like a dark cloud over his head and I think he wanted to remove it,” Sam Kadri said. “He did that. If he hadn’t hurt his hand, I think he could have contributed a lot more. In the future, I think everyone will realize he’s a playoff player. And keep doing it.”
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In fact, those playoffs were a challenge for Kadri. And they were not without controversy.
In the second round, he narrowly escaped another penalty when he ran into and injured the St. Louis goalkeeper. Louis Blues, Jordan Binnington. This made the head coach of St. Louis, Craig Berube, referred to Kadri’s “reputation” and had fans of the so-called Blues point to Kadri with racist comments online that crossed the line.
It was an ugly few days for him and for hockey.
“His personality is what it is, he will obviously be antagonized with ice,” Sam Kadri said. “I don’t think that incident with St. Louis was his intention to do so. But it only gives you a dose of what’s real in the world right now. And it’s sad to see. I mean, I could respect anyone who says, “You’re a dirty player.” Whatever you mean by him. But when you start carrying the race card, it’s offline. “
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Kadri turned hatred into motivation, scoring a hat trick in game 4.
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“For him, I admire him a lot, because anyone else you can retire in these circumstances,” Sam Kadri said. “And he decided to do something about it.”
Kadri had a similar response after being injured in the third game of the West Final, when Edmonton’s Evander Kane hit him against the back tables and broke his right thumb. The injury should have eliminated him from the rest of the playoffs. But Kadri eventually returned to Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final, where he scored the overtime goal that gave Colorado a 3-1 lead in the series.
“I play basketball and my vertical is probably two inches,” Sam Kadri said. “I was four feet that night.”
For Kadri, it was a miracle that he even played.
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“It was terrible,” he said of his broken thumb, which was badly bandaged and required a modified glove that looked more like Thanos’s glove. “I felt it with every change. It was tough. I had a little help. I turned a six-week timeline into two weeks. I couldn’t even tie the skates before the game. The medical coach tied me up. the skates before every game, so what a war.But nothing will stop me from being out here.
“I also froze in there. I really can’t feel it so much. Like I said, I wanted to be in the heart. I didn’t want to be outside looking inward. I spent every hour of every day trying to play again and it went. be great “.
In fact, as the first Muslim player to win a championship, Kadri’s father said he didn’t just play for himself or his teammates. He played for anyone who looked like Kadri and who had felt like they didn’t belong.
“It means everything,” Kadri said. “I never forget where I come from, I never forget my roots.”
“For us, we are Canadians at heart, first and foremost. And we are proud to be Canadian Muslims,” his father added. “I think it will do a lot, a lot for the younger generations. Hopefully, we remove this stigma from racism from any sport, from our culture, from our society and from wherever we are. And hopefully we can move forward with that. “
Sam Kadri added with a smile, “I also have my name in the Cup.”
mtraikos@postmedia.com
twitter.com/Michael_Traikos
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