Rumor: Islanders may pursue Nazem Kadri

On the latest episode of 32 Thoughts the Podcast with Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek, Friedman indicated that both New York teams may be interested in pursuing unrestricted free-agent to be, Nazem Kadri.

"I have heard not to count out the New York teams possibly looking at Kadri, the Rangers and the Islanders... They think there's a lot of competition and a lot of unique attempts to get him done."

Elliotte Friedman

This may come as a surprise at first glance as the Islanders are deep at the center position, but zooming the lens in a little further, Kadri has history with Isles GM Lou Lamoriello. The pending UFA is coming off a six-year contract that he signed with Lamoriello when he was GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now, he's headed into July 13th unsigned, and the last GM to sign him long-term may just be interested in bringing him to his new club.

"The one thing I do want to say about the Islanders is Lou Lamoriello is notorious for not calling until 12:01 until Eastern on Wednesday. He is old school, he does not break the rules, and that's why (this source) said to me 'you might have to wait for some clarity if that Islanders are indeed part of this.' Teams do suspect that both the Rangers and the Islanders will talk to Kadri, so we'll see where that goes."

Elliotte Friedman

Kadri is coming off a career-best season with the Colorado Avalanche where he scored 28 goals and accumulated 87 points. The Islanders certainly want to upgrade their offense, but the question is where would Kadri fit? Some believe that Brock Nelson could fair well on the wing, and others have wondered the same about Mathew Barzal in that same scenario. Either way, if the Islanders are serious about Kadri, there's no doubt he would be an upgrade to the offense. What will be interesting to see is if this does come to fruition, what will the term look like for the 31, soon-to-be 32-year-old center?