Avalanche Make Major Nazem Kadri Change After Ugly Loss to Predators
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One thing is certain in Denver, change is needed. Whether you are talking about the Rockies or Avalanche, there’s a point where the realization of needed adjustments is necessary.
Coach Jared Bednar is apparently ready to make some changes to his forward lines.
Sunday brought an embarrassing loss to the Colorado Avalanche. The Nashville Predators handed the Mile High-based organization a 6-2 defeat.
This was just another blow to a team that is supposed to have Stanley Cup aspirations, but has yet to really put together a solid 60 minutes yet in a 2026-27 game.
Bednar made some changes at Tuesday’s practice. Colorado Hockey Now’s Aarif Deen reported on the practice and the moves.
Nazem Kadri was moved from the second-line wing to third-line center. He was seen skating alongside Jaden Schwartz and T.J. Hughes.
Nicolas Roy returned to practice after suffering a lower-body injury that has kept him out of several games. Roy was on the second line at practice with Gabriel Landeskog and Brock Nelson.
Overall, this entire team has not truly found its groove and certainly hasn’t been consistent. No doubt, the hope is that the changes bring some positive play to the team.
In all honesty, after watching the game on Sunday, there’s not much argument for leaving things as they were. Change was necessary.
Nazem Kadri Back to Natural Position
Part of the moves seen on the lines centered around Fedor Svechkov. Bednar had originally placed him as the third-line center. With that, Kadri was playing early in the season on Nelson’s wing.
That approach wasn’t working. Bednar moved Svechkov to the fourth line between Parker Kelly and Logan O’Connor.
Much of this makes sense, and hopefully brings about a stronger level of play.
Kadri has spent much of his NHL career playing center so moving him back down the middle will bring experience and a player who is very capable of creating offense.
This move also places Hughes alongside a veteran who can help drive plays and create opportunities.
Now, that’s not to say that Hughes hasn’t been impressive so far. As an undrafted rookie, he has already proven he belongs. But having some more confidence and experience alongside you never really hurt anyone.
Being on the line with Kadri and Schwartz could give Hughes a chance to further his game even more.
Key to all of this is that now Colorado will have Nathan MacKinnon, Nelson and Kadri centering the first three lines.
While it seems like everyone should be excited about that, it’s hard to get too motivated until they prove it. The talent hasn’t ever been in question this year; it’s the execution.
Roy Could Add a Boost
All of that is encouraging, but don’t forget about Roy coming back. The 29-year-old confirmed on Tuesday that he is healthy and ready to go.
"Without going too much into detail, it started in Winnipeg and from there it got worse and worse," Roy told reporters, according to Deen.
Roy has the ability to be productive on the penalty kill, clearly something the Avalanche needs.
It hasn’t been made 100% official by the team yet, but Roy appears to be ready to take the ice on Wednesday against the New Jersey Devils.
Given how much the team has struggled with injuries, having Roy back would allow Bednar to even up the lines and hopefully get some more balanced play from the entire team.
Bednar Changing Multiple Things
While we have discussed several forward combination changes here, Bednar wasn’t done there.
The power-play. Say no more. Something certainly has to change here. Bednar put Martin Necas back on the first unit and moved Schwartz on the second.
Who knows if that will fix the power-play unit or even make it better, but staying with status quo certainly isn’t the answer there.
This is not the time to panic. Colorado seems to take this path every year with slow starts, but just accepting mediocrity certainly is not the way to go. It’s time to pay attention to the problems.
There is plenty of time to get things headed in the right direction. Kadri returning to center and having Roy back on the ice could be a big part of that process.
The Avalanche will face the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday evening to determine if any of the changes are productive.
We will be watching.
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Laura Lambert resides in Wiggins, Colo. with her husband, Ricky and two sons, Brayden and Boedy. She attended the University of Northern Colorado while studying economics. She is an accomplished rodeo athlete and barrel horse trainer along with being a life-long sports fan. Over the years, Laura has been active in journalism in a variety of roles. While continuing to cover western sports and country music, she is currently enjoying expanding her reach into multiple sports including MLB, NHL, NCAA and WNBA. Laura covers the Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Avalanche and Rodeo for On SI. You can reach her at lauralambertmedia@gmail.com