from Mike Chambers of the Denver Post,

New Avalanche center Nazem Kadri, no stranger to criticism, has indirectly fanned the flames in the club’s rivalry with Calgary.

The Flames have lost five consecutive games to Colorado dating to last season, including the last four in a first-round playoff series in April in which the Western Conference regular-season champion fell to the No. 8-seeded Avs. And now Flames’ fans are upset with Kadri, Colorado’s new second-line center and power-play specialist who adds much-needed toughness to the forward corps.

Before Thursday’s season-opener for both teams at the Pepsi Center, Kadri said that he nixed an off-season trade to Calgary. The Flames were among the 10 NHL destinations on his no-trade list. The former Toronto standout, 28, was traded to Colorado July 1, after he told the Maple Leafs he wouldn’t adjust his no-trade demands and go to Calgary.

Though Colorado was not among the 10 teams on Kadri’s no-trade list, he didn’t want to become an Avalanche, either. He wanted to remain in Toronto, the franchise that selected him with the seventh pick of the 2009 draft.

“My initial feeling was to stay in Toronto. That’s kind of why that whole situation panned out the way it did,” Kadri said. “It was nothing against Calgary. I obviously love that city and love going there as a visiting team. I just had aspirations to staying put.”

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