There was plenty of smoke, but no fire. Unless, that is, you consider that Nazem Kadri will be wearing an oversized flaming “C” on his sweater next season rather than an Islanders crest.

Amid rampant speculation — and speculation may be putting it politely, in some cases — Kadri will not be joining the Islanders for the upcoming season, reportedly agreeing to a seven-year deal Thursday with the Calgary Flames. The Islanders’ NHL roster is still exactly the same as it was when the disappointing 2021-22 season came to an end, other than defenseman Alexander Romanov’s arrival from Montreal in a draft-day trade last month.

There were rumblings that the Islanders were interested in Kadri, and even reports from credible places that he was offered a contract. The potential fit did make sense, too. General manager Lou Lamoriello had been hinting since the quiet 2022 NHL trade deadline last March that the forward group needed some help, and Kadri, a player he already had a relationship with dating to their time together in Toronto, was coming off a career-high 87 point season with the Stanley Cup-winning Avalanche.

Sure, Kadri is a center, and the Islanders still have three-NHL caliber pivots in Brock Nelson, Mathew Barzal and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. But they would have found a way to move some pieces around, and even if they had to jettison a forward or two to fit Kadri’s salary, the offense almost certainly would have been more potent.

Instead, the Kadri situation ended up similar to the Johnny Gaudreau shocker back on the opening day of free agency. Yes, there was some mutual interest between the team and the player, but not enough to get it pushed over the finish line. It’s a feeling that Islanders fans have become accustomed to, but one that wasn’t supposed to be as frequent with UBS Arena now proudly standing tall.

Would a seven-year Kadri deal with the Islanders have carried some risk? Of course. These deals always do. Kadri will be 32 in early October, and 38 in the final year, so he could have conceivably fallen off relatively quickly. Kadri also wouldn’t have had the luxury of playing a depth role on one of the league’s best offenses, as Colorado had other elite-level talents already in place like Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar helping to generate 3.76 goals per game last season, fourth in the league. There’s also Kadri’s disciplinary history, as he was punished with significant suspensions for hits in the playoffs while still with the Maple Leafs.