One of the premier free agents in the NHL coming into the summer, Nazem Kadri has finally found a home, signing a seven-year, $49 million contract with the Calgary Flames. The Flames have also traded center Sean Monahan to the Montreal Canadiens.

Signing Kadri marks an exceptional rebound for Flames GM Brad Treliving after the club lost star left winger Johnny Gaudreau to the Columbus Blue Jackets as a free agent and was pressured into a trade by Matthew Tkachuk. The Flames have added Kadri, left winger Jonathan Huberdeau, and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, making the team that won the Pacific Division last year a legitimate contender to repeat the feat. 

Here is a breakdown of the reported deals of Nazem Kadri to the Flames and Sean Monahan to the Montreal Canadiens.

Nazem Kadri to the Calgary Flames

Kadri, 31, is coming off the best season of his career. Not only was he a crucial part of the Colorado Avalanche’s Stanley Cup win, but he produced a career high 87 points (29 G, 58 A) in 71 games. His previous career high was 61 points, so this was a dramatic leap forward in terms of point production.

Kadri also had dominant play driving numbers, with the Avalanche controlling 57.0 percent of 5v5 shot attempts and 53.9 percent of 5v5 expected goals with Kadri on the ice as Colorado outscored the opposition 60-44 in those 5v5 situations.

Even if Kadri is highly unlikely to duplicate his career best season, he has been a quality center throughout his career, a skilled player who plays with an edge to his game. In fact, his greatest shortcoming has been his inability to keep control of himself in the postseason, as he has been suspended three times in the playoffs (and three more times in the regular season), but the fire at the heart of those plays is also what makes Kadri a valuable player when he is on the ice.

In Calgary, the Flames are probably going to have a relatively balanced approach between their top two lines, with Kadri and Elias Lindholm taking those top two center spots. If Kadri ends up playing with Jonathan Huberdeau, that would be the kind of opportunity that might allow Kadri to have a chance at another point-per-game season. Otherwise, Kadri could still be valuable scoring 60-plus points and providing quality two-way play.