Nathan MacKinnon hasn’t flashed a smile like that on the ice since, what, June 2022?

Just saying.

“I’ve been here a short while, and I think we’ve got what it takes (to win it all),” Kadri said Sunday after helping the Avalanche snatch a scrappy shootout win over the Minnesota Wild in Naz’s Denver return.

“Being around the guys and understanding their level of focus … they understand that we’ve got ourselves a great opportunity here. And when everyone’s on that same page … (During the) 2022 (Stanley Cup run), that’s exactly the feeling I had. So, I mean, there’s a lot of work to be done. Nobody’s going to give it to us. But we’re going to work for it.”

Speaking of work, it only took Kadri about a period-and-a-half to remind Avs fans exactly what they’d missed about him. The poking. The prodding. The pressing.

With 7:41 to go in the second stanza, the veteran Avs forward closed in and nagged Wild defenseman Brock Faber behind the Minnesota goal — intercepting Quinn Hughes’ drop pass for Faber in the process.

“I think we had some good pressure on the forecheck,” Kadri said. “Made a good read, picked off a pass and found Nate in the slot. He’s going to bury that.”

Whenever MacKinnon’s lurking nearby, it only takes a split second to turn a moment of chaos into utter genius.

Sure enough, Kadri spotted a charging Nate Dogg all alone in the right face-off circle, and fed the Avs center a laser from goalie Jesper Wallstedt’s blind spot. MacKinnon celebrated the gift by launching a wrister over the Wild netminder’s shoulder, putting the hosts on the board with a 1-0 lead.

Cue that smile. Oh, doctor. It was luminous. It’s the one MacKinnon saves for Cup clinchers, downtown victory parades, and reunions with his closest pals. Nate Dogg hugged Kadri. Avs fans hugged one another.

NHL? You’re in trouble deep.

Lord Stanley? We’ve got a table waiting for you at Fogo De Chao.

The helper was Naz’s first point with the Avs since his winning goal in overtime at Tampa to close out Game 4 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals.

Mike Penny actually saw that last one in the flesh. Sort of. The Avs diehard was part of a pack of about seven “KADRI 91” sweaters sitting shoulder to shoulder in Sections 128 and 130 Sunday.

“It was amazing,” Penny said of that Naz game-winner. “We were catty-corner from where the goal got scored. And we saw these four Avalanche fans just jumping up and down. And we’re like, ‘They must have scored! They must have scored!’

“So we started jumping up and down. And then next thing you know, the whole crowd erupts.”

“Even the Lightning fans?” I wondered.

“Well, not really,” Penny replied. “But all the Avs fans in the crowd.”

Can’t make this stuff up, kids.

“We knew Naz was coming back (today), right? So we all decided to keep our tickets,” Penny’s friend Marc Angel explained. “And we were all like, ‘Look, we are wearing the Naz (sweaters on Sunday).'”

Angel showed me a group text they’d put together after Avs GM Chris MacFarland landed Kadri from Calgary this past Friday. a coordinated effort to make sure everybody nabbed those old 91s out of the back of the closet. Like Colorado’s power play, it takes a village, sometimes.

“Ever year, (Penny) would get mad at me and tell me, ‘He’s coming back, he’s coming back, I know he’s coming back,'” Angel recalled. “This year, it actually happened.”

“Look, I kept the sweater,” Penny countered. “I don’t know what else you want!”

One more Cup?

One more summer cigar at Civic Center park?

“I’ve never been a (trade) deadline guy,” Kadri said. “But, you know, to come here and play in front of these fans and play with this team is exactly what I could have asked for.”

If Sunday was any indication, the love affair between Avs fans and Kadri burns as hot as ever.

Derek Huffman brought a 2019-2020 game-worn No. 91 with him from Thornton for Sunday’s homecoming. He’s got two more Naz sweaters back home.

“I call him, like, a Claude Lemieux. Like a hemorrhoid,” Huffman said. “The ones you want on your team. And hate when they’re not on your team.

“The guy just pokes and pokes and knows where to poke at.”

Huffman was on a Teams call in his home office around 2-ish this past Friday afternoon when news of the Kadri trade broke.

His daughter, working upstairs, let outt a cry.

“OH MY GOD!”

She went running down the steps and burst into Derek’s room. Huffman turned his mute on and his camera off. Why let a business call ruin a moment of absolute elation?

“We landed him,” she told Huffman. “Oh my God.”

“For what?” he queried.

Once they found out?

Oh. My. God.

“It’s the best thing in the world. I think (Kadri) might be the missing piece,” Huffman gushed. “When you add that back in there and the grit — you already saw it in the beginning of the game, just a grit, (his) back-checking. Getting his face in the middle of the net and everything else. Just being him.”

Naz skated with the top line and opened on the first power-play unit.  With 13:03 to go in the first period, the Avs ran a video tribute to Kadri’s first Denver stint, capped by a WELCOME HOME message on the scoreboard.

Kadri looked up, briefly, then wagged a gloved finger in appreciation. As the applause continued, his gaze turned back quickly to the ice.

“It’s almost like a ‘pinch-me’ type moment,” Kadri said later. “Like, ‘Wow, this is crazy. Hey, guys, can you settle down? I’ve got to focus here.’  But no, of course, I love the noise. I love the support. And these fans are special.”

You’ve heard of fans who can’t wait to drive a player to the airport, right? Avalanche faithful apparently tried to get Kadri from DIA back to Ball Arena quicker after his plane landed late Saturday night.

“You get spotted?” I asked Naz.

“Several times, yeah,” Kadri replied. “But they actually helped me out with my luggage.”

Denver fans with the assist. Naturally. Some legends write themselves. And some sequels are worth the wait.

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Nathan MacKinnon and Valeri Nichushkin scored in the one-on-one competition Sunday afternoon, and the Avs knocked off the Minnesota Wild, 3-2, at Ball Arena. They also beat the Dallas Stars in a shootout Friday night, securing a huge four points to put the Central Division title and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference in clear view.

Colorado led the Stars by nine points and the Wild by 10 after the win, though Dallas had a game to play later Sunday night. The Avs were 1-5 in shootouts before this weekend.

“It was great,” Avs goaltender Scott Wedgewood said after making 32 saves and three more in the shootout. “I think it foreshadows that it is probably going to take some extra time come playoff time. I think you just get that upper edge. You feel like you beat them, regardless of how you beat them.”

Nazem Kadri had an assist in his return to the Avs after being acquired Friday afternoon in a trade with the Calgary Flames.

Two of the other new guys teamed up to help the Avs get even at 2-2. Nicolas Roy tipped a Brett Kulak shot from the left point past Minnesota goaltender Jesper Wallstedt at 12:39 of the third period. It was Roy’s first goal with the Avs after being acquired Thursday in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Colorado entered the day 33-0-0 when leading after two periods. The Avs wobbled in the third, but they are now 34-0-0.

“Obviously at that point, we needed a goal,” Roy said. “Just tried to switch the mindset up a little bit, tried to attack a little more. It was good to get one there. Good timing.”

While the Avs have been historically great for much of this season at even strength, they nearly lost this contest on special teams. Minnesota rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the first half of the third period with a pair of special-teams tallies.

Kirill Kaprizov scored four seconds into a Wild power play after Ross Colton went to the penalty box for slashing. Kaprizov was shooting for Matt Boldy’s stick, but the official scored determined it went off Brent Burns’ blade instead and just inside the far post at 4:17 of the third.

Then, with the Avs on the power play, old friend Nico Sturm got behind everyone and scored shorthanded at 7:01. That is Colorado’s 11th shorthanded goal against this season, which leads the NHL.

The Avs went 0-for-5 with the man advantage in this contest and yielded a shorthanded goal. That’s a bad day at the office, even though Colorado’s first unit did create far more chances than it has on other scoreless days this season.

MacKinnon had the lone goal of the opening two periods. Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes tried to leave the puck for a teammate, but Kadri jumped the drop pass and then sent it to MacKinnon cutting to the net.

The league leader scored his 43rd of the season at 12:19 of the second, and immediately pointed across the to ice to Kadri.

The Ball Arena crowd gave Kadri several loud ovations — during warmups, when he was introduced in the starting lineup and after a welcome back video during the first television timeout. He got another one after setting up MacKinnon’s goal.

Kadri spent three seasons with Colorado from 2019-22, but became one of the most popular players in recent franchise history.

His run culminated with the club’s third Stanley Cup championship in 2022. Kadri signed a seven-year, $49 million contract with the Calgary Flames a few weeks after lifting the Cup with the Avs, then returned Friday afternoon in a trade completed just before the deadline.

“It was emotional,” Kadri said. “Just seeing the support I get here, it was absolutely incredible. Just makes me want to play harder for these fans and this team.”

FOOTNOTE: Avs captain Gabe Landeskog missed the game is “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury. Landeskog got hit in the groin area with a Cale Makar shot during the second period Friday night, but finished the game and played nearly 23 minutes in the 5-4 shootout win. He took nine shifts in the third period.

“It’s a lower-body injury, not a comfortable one,” Bednar said. “That’s the timeframe the doctor gave us.”

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Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog will not play Sunday afternoon against the Minnesota Wild and is “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury, a team spokesman said.

Avalanche best Wild in shootout, sweep division rivals in huge weekend

Landeskog took a Cale Makar shot to the groin area Friday night during the Avs' 5-4 shootout win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center. He showed reporters his athletic cup after the game in the Avs' locker room, and it had a puck-sized dent in it.

He has nine goals and 29 points in 47 games for the Avs this season after missing the previous three regular-seasons with knee issues.

Landeskog just returned from an upper-body injury. He missed the last 14 games before the Olympic break after crashing into the net and end boards during a game in South Florida. He returned for the 2026 Winter Olympics with Sweden, and was in the lineup for the first six Avs contests since the break.

The Avs are going to have Nazem Kadri in the lineup against the Wild for the first time since the 2022 Cup Final. Kadri signed a seven-year contract with the Calgary Flames shortly after the title run, but the Avs brought him back in a before-the-buzzer trade Friday just ahead of the deadline.

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The appetite to make a big trade before the deadline was there for Minnesota GM Bill Guerin and Carolina GM Eric Tulsky, but the market — either players available or prices asked — made it prohibitive. That was a big development for the NHL’s pacesetter, the Colorado Avalanche, on its own. Other clubs chasing the Avs couldn’t find another marquee player to help bridge the gap.

Then Colorado GM Chris MacFarland pulled one of those big moves just before the buzzer, anyway. Colorado has been the team to beat for much of this season.

Are the Avs still in the pole position after the deadline passed?

“Absolutely, 100 percent,” TSN analyst Craig Button said. “The Minnesota Wild are playing catch-up. The Dallas Stars are playing catch-up. When they think they are catching up, it’s like the coyote and the roadrunner. The coyote thinks he’s getting closer, and close is still pretty far away.”

Let’s take a look at where the Western Conference stands after a relatively slow deadline.

NOTE: Records are as of Saturday morning.

1. Colorado Avalanche (42-10-9, 93 points)

IN: Nazem Kadri, Nicolas Roy, Brett Kulak, Nick Blankenburg
OUT: Samuel Girard, Victor Olofsson, Max Curran

Button made those comments above before the Avs stacked Kadri on top of three other sensible additions that all addressed the first-world needs of the league’s top club. There was a blip while two key veterans were out before the Olympic break. Colorado is 5-1 since the restart.

Beep. Beep.

2. Dallas Stars (38-14-10, 86 points)

IN: Michael Bunting, Tyler Myers
OUT: None

The Stars are deep, talented and have no obvious weaknesses. It felt like Jim Nill was going to be able to pull off something big when the club declared Tyler Seguin out for the season and playoffs. Bunting is a good player. Myers is slightly better than one or two of the guys Dallas might need to play in a playoff series. Small upgrades to an already really good team.

The potential fatal flaw? The Stars just aren’t as good, on paper, as the Avalanche. That was probably true each of the past two seasons as well, though, and it didn’t matter.

3. Minnesota Wild (37-16-10, 84 points)

IN: Bobby Brink, Michael McCarron, Nick Foligno, Jeff Petry
OUT: David Jiricek, Vinnie Hinostroza

The Wild did make the biggest trade of the NHL season. Adding Quinn Hughes makes this a different, dangerous club. Minnesota has a pretty obvious issue, though. The center depth chart — Joel Eriksson Ek, Ryan Hartman, Danila Yurov, Michael McCarron, throw ex-Avs Nico Sturm and Yakov Trenin in there too — is clearly third-best among the “Big Three” in the Central.

And the Wild are most likely going to need to win a seven-game series against both of the other two.

4. Utah Mammoth (33-25-4, 70 points)

IN: Mackenzie Weegar
OUT: Olli Maata

Weegar’s play has dipped a bit recently, but could a playoff chase give him a boost? He’s one of the best players who was traded this past week, a fun addition for a young team that might be a year ahead of schedule. Utah is likely to end up with the winner of the Pacific Division. When Karel Vejmelka is in the net, the Mammoth are pretty clearly the fourth-best team in the West.

5. Anaheim Ducks (35-24-3, 73 points)

IN: John Carlson, Jeffrey Viel
OUT: Ryan Strome

Speaking of young teams ahead of schedule, the Ducks have arrived and might squeak out a division title. Carlson was a surprising addition, but that’s a pretty strong blue line now to help Anaheim’s collection of young scorers. The obvious question is, can this group hang with Vegas or Edmonton, two of the most battle-tested postseason clubs in the league, in a playoff series? Maybe the Ducks’ talent and speed will just overwhelm them. It’s worth noting Anaheim is 8-0 in shootouts this year. The Ducks will go 0-0 in shootouts once the tournament starts.

6. Vegas Golden Knights (29-20-14, 72 points)

IN: Rasmus Andersson, Nic Dowd, Cole Smith
OUT: Zack Whitecloud

The Ducks collect a bunch of shootout points. The Golden Knights collect a bunch of overtime loss points. Neither team wins in regulation very often. Vegas is the first of two teams that should be way better than. Will the Golden Knights flip some proverbial switch in mid-April? Andersson was a nice addition.

7. Edmonton Oilers (30-25-8, 68 points)

IN: Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson, Colton Dach
OUT: Andrew Mangipane

Edmonton has also spent most of the season looking for the same “remember we are actually good” button as Vegas. The Oilers spent some premium assets to add depth players. They switched goaltenders in December, and no contender still has a bigger, more obvious flaw than Edmonton’s goaltending.

The Oilers have allowed 56 goals in the past 12 games. They could flame out in five games. They could still win the West, in theory.

8. Los Angeles Kings (25-22-14, 64 points)

IN: Artemi Panarin, Scott Laughton, Mathieu Joseph
OUT: Warren Foegele, Corey Perry, Liam Greentree

The Kings are yet another team that should be better. Adding Panarin could make them dangerous if they sneak in, but there are a bunch of injuries right now, and a push for the final wild-card spot could come up short. Maybe there will be a new-coach bump. Maybe they just are what the record has said most of the year.

9. Seattle Kraken (29-23-9, 67 points)

IN: Bobby McMann
OUT: None

McMann is a nice complementary player. Would have fit in well with the Avs, had a deal crossed the finish line there. It also feels like Seattle should have made another move? The Kraken are trying to reach the playoffs for the second time in five seasons, and still feel like a club with a nice foundation but short on the top-end talent to be more than this.

10. San Jose Sharks (30-25-5, 65 points)

IN: Kiefer Sherwood, Jet Woo
OUT: Timothy Liljegren, Jack Thompson

This team is exciting, if unpredictable. The fan base is coming back in droves and having a moment. The Shark Tank is alive again. The vibes are very high, and maybe the kids have one final push for a wild-card spot in them. But the Sharks did also just trade away their fourth-most-used defenseman this season, the one position that still needs some long-term work before Macklin Celebrini and Co. are ready to really compete in the postseason.

11. Nashville Predators (28-26-8, 64 points)

IN: None
OUT: Michael Bunting, Michael McCarron, Nick Blankenburg, Cole Smith

Could the zombie Predators still sneak in? They didn’t trade Ryan O’Reilly or Steven Stamkos, though they did gut the depth of the roster in a pretty significant way. The fact that O’Reilly is still in Music City, and not on one of the top contenders, was another small win for the Avs at the deadline.

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Just a few hours before the Avs came back from two goals down to defeat the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center, Colorado made the biggest move of trade deadline day and brought a Stanley Cup champion home. The Avs traded for Nazem Kadri, who had to leave after winning the championship in 2022 but is back to help his old pals try to win another.

“It’s very exciting,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said after the 5-4 shootout win. “He’s a world-class player. He had 35 goals last year and continues to produce. He’s a gamer. We know that from the past. I love the guy, so it’s super exciting to bring him back into our room.”

Colorado had a successful lead-in to deadline day. Avalanche management had already checked three items off the wishlist:

• Brett Kulak added size, improved defensive solidity to the back end
• Nicolas Roy as the new No. 3 center
• Nick Blankenburg as the new No. 7 defenseman

The Avs were already happy with their newfound center depth. Then, they added Kadri at the buzzer.

Now, Parker Kelly is the No. 6 option at center, while having a career-year playing mostly on the wing. He was the club’s No. 3 option at center for a big chunk of last season, before Jack Drury arrived ahead of Roy and Kadri.

“It adds a guy we know really well.” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We’ve won with him before. It’s exciting. The guy’s got a lot of friends still on the team. He’s excited to come back. I’m excited to have him back. It’s another impact, dynamic player that you can put in your roster.

“We’ll see how it all sorts out eventually.”

Kadri was the No. 2 center behind Nathan MacKinnon when the Avs steamrolled through the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now, the Avs have Brock Nelson, who already has 30 goals in 61 games, in that spot. Kadri could be the No. 3 guy, with Roy shifting to the wing.

Or that could be reversed. One of them could have the chance to fill in on one of the top two lines while Artturi Lehkonen is out with an injury.

“Super happy,” MacKinnon said. “Obviously, we’re pumped to have Naz back. It’s exciting for the fans, for this organization, all of us in this room. I think we needed a little bit more game-breaking, a little scoring punch we might have missed last year in the playoffs.”

“Obviously, it’s a lot of pressure on us. We’ve got to perform. Once again, our management’s going all in. We definitely appreciate (management) putting us in a good spot.”

The Avalanche was already atop the NHL standings. It’s been that way for closing in on four months. Colorado was already the betting favorite to win the Stanley Cup.

Then the Avs won deadline day.

“You want to put yourself in a position where your management can go out and try to improve the team this time of year. That’s all you’re looking for,” Lankdeskog said. “We’ve got full faith in (general manager Chris MacFarland) and our staff to put the best team we possibly can on the ice. That’s something they’ve done. It gives us quite a bit of power through the middle and flexibility.”

It was an interesting scene Friday night in downtown Dallas. The two best teams in the NHL were on the ice for warmups, but both clubs were missing their most recent additions ahead of the deadline, plus a key Finn (Lehkonen for Colorado, Mikko Rantanen for Dallas).

Meanwhile, Kadri was speaking to the media via Zoom, excited about the homecoming. The Avs are hopeful that Kadri will be in Denver by Sunday morning, and it’s plausible that he could be in the lineup at Ball Arena against the Minnesota Wild.

“Knowing that I’m coming back to Colorado is just a dream come true,” Kadri said. “The situation they’ve put themselves in, and just me being able to tag along and add, I cannot wait.

“It’s surreal. It feels like deja vu all over again, and nostalgic, to say the least.”

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The Blackhawks announced on Saturday that Murray died earlier in the day, without specifying where.

Nicknamed “Muzz,” Murray revealed in August 2021 he had been diagnosed with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy treatments. He did not specify the type of cancer he had or provide any other details about his condition. Murray continued working on Blackhawks broadcasts, though at a diminished workload, before stepping away entirely this season.

Blackhawks chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz said the organization was “deeply heartbroken.”

“Troy was the epitome of a Blackhawk so far beyond his incredible playing career, with his presence felt in every corner of our organization over the last 45 years,” Wirtz said.

“During his long and hard battle with cancer, it was often said that Troy didn’t have any ‘give up’ in him,” Wirtz added. “While our front office won’t be the same without him, we will carry that spirit forward every day in his honor. We’ll miss you, Troy.”

Murray was best known as one of the Blackhawks most respected leaders during a 15-year NHL career that ended with him.

After spending the following season with the International Hockey League Chicago Wolves, Murray stayed in the city to begin his broadcasting career in 1998. Murray also became president of the Blackhawks alumni association.

“Troy Murray is remembered for not only his contributions on the ice, but for his professionalism and humility and dedication to the city of Chicago,” the team said in a release. “He leaves behind a lasting legacy within the Blackhawks family and the broader hockey world.”

Selected by Chicago in the third round of the 1980 draft, the center broke in with the Blackhawks by playing one game as a 19-year-old during the 1981-82 season.

From Calgary, Alberta, Murray topped 20 goals five times, including a career-best 45 goals and 99 points in 1985-86, while also known for his defensive play. That same season, he became the Blackhawks’ first player to win the NHL’s Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward.

Murray finished with 197 goals and 488 points in 688 games over two stints with the Blackhawks, and also played for Winnipeg, where he served as the Jets captain, Ottawa and Pittsburgh. Overall, he had 230 goals and 584 points in 915 career games.

Murray played collegiately at North Dakota, and earned WCHA rookie of the year honors as a freshman in 1981, and the following year helped the school win its fourth NCAA championship. In 1982, he also was captain of the Canada’s world junior championships gold medal-winning team.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Three decades ago, there were Jordan Rules implemented by the Detroit Pistons. Now, there are the Jokic Rules carried out by Lilliputians.

It is not basketball.

It is part strategy, part WWE. It seems inspired by Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell, who famously said, “when you knock us down we’re going to get up, and on the way up we’re going to bite a kneecap off.”

If the guards like Utah’s Keyonte George and the Lakers’ Marcus Smart focused on fronting Jokic, it would be understandable. But they purposely box their butts into his legs, trying to get Jokic to tumble over or trip on his own feet. That is not defense. That is some Humpty Dumpty bull(bleep).

The Jazz and Lakers followed the same blueprint that is almost guaranteed to reappear Monday night in Oklahoma City. Alex Caruso relishes making Jokic miserable. He is an elite defender. And should be above this gimmick. He likely won’t be.

Teams have no incentive to stop if the refs don’t enforce the rules. Jokic doesn’t help himself by complaining, a habit he has fallen back into over the last month. But, he has the right to defend himself with the way he is getting defended.

One solution is for Jokic to fall forward when they back into his knees, squashing anyone and anything below. It would be worth it if not for the fact that Jokic is coming off a knee injury, and any slight twist or tweak could end the Nuggets’ season.

So what is the answer if the refs continue to let guards harass the big man?

Screens and picks. And more screens. And more picks. It will look weird. But if Bruce Brown or Aaron Gordon sets a blind pick as Jokic goes to the corner that will ease the appetite of the defenders to latch onto the center’s legs like yapping Chihuahuas. Running motion across the face of the defenders will also put them on notice for a screen or an “accidental” bump to the chest.

Jokic will always inspire inventive ways to stop him. This, though, has to stop. The refs need a more active whistle, and the Nuggets players need to protect Jokic from defenders and himself.

Russell vs. Sean, part 4 or 5?: Russell Wilson clapped back at Sean Payton. This passive-aggressive feud continues to feature smoldering embers. For those keeping score, Payton took a shot at Wilson after the Broncos beat the Giants, saying, “I was talking to (Giants owner) John Mara, and I said, ‘We were hoping that that change would have happened long after our game.'” It was meant as a compliment to Jaxson Dart.

Understandably, Wilson did not see it that way, tweeting, “Classless … but not surprised. Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later through the media.” OK, fair. So, why is Wilson still talking about it four months later? Wilson said recently on the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast that, “I know who I am as a competitor, as a warrior, as a champion, and you know, I’ve beaten Sean, too. You know, like we’ve been in the same place and the same thing. … Just don’t disrespect me.”

This reminds me of when George Constanza was devouring food in “Seinfeld,” and co-worker Reilly quipped, “You know George, the ocean called, they are all out of shrimp.” Constanza failed to volley, and planned a Firestone snow tire night weeks later to exact revenge. He repeated his eating habits, and the ocean line followed. Constanza countered with “The jerk store called and they are all out of you.” The comeback fell flat. Wilson had a better retort, but it was too late. And frankly, where was this courage in 2023 when Payton unloaded on Wilson at Detroit? Payton makes enemies. No question. But if you are going to come at him again, there should be a statute of limitations.

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On a day where the Colorado Avalanche made a stunning last-second trade to re-acquire Nazem Kadri just before the deadline, the Dallas Stars scored four times in the first 22 minutes before the visitors came all the way back for a wild 5-4 shootout win Friday night at American Airlines Center.

The win puts the Avs seven points clear of the Stars at the top of the NHL standings, while Colorado also has a game in hand. It also stopped Dallas’ 10-game winning streak.

“I thought we played pretty well. Great comeback win,” Avs star Nathan MacKinnon said. “The second half of that game, I thought we played really, really well. The shots, the chances were in our favor, so a solid win.”

Valeri Nichushkin scored a 6-on-5 goal with 13.2 seconds to send this game to overtime. It was his 13th goal of the season, and just his second since scoring a hat trick on New Year’s Eve.

Nichuhskin and Martin Necas also both scored pretty shootout goals to earn the second point.

“Yeah, it’s huge,” MacKinnon said of Nichushkin’s goal. “I don’t know how long it was, but it was a little bit. Huge for our team. He played awesome.”

Necas had a four-point night for the Avs, while MacKinnon had a goal and two assists.

The Avs did not have a good first period at 5-on-5, but the power play roared to life to keep them in it. Cale Makar scored on a wrister from the right circle at 3:33 of the first. It was the third great look of the man advantage, and Makar’s 19th goal of the season. MacKinnon picked up his 60th assist on the play.

MacKinnon scored in the final seconds of the period on a one-timer from Necas to give Colorado two power-play goals in the same game for the first time since Jan. 8 against Ottawa and only the sixth time all season.

In between the extra-man tallies, the Stars racked up a trio of goals. Miro Heiskanen tied the score with a power-play goal at 7:11 of the first. His shot from the top of the zone hit Avs defenseman Devon Toews just in front of Mackenzie Blackwood.

Wyatt Johnston’s first shot went wide left from the right circle, but he went into that corner, came back into the left circle and beat Blackwood with another try at 10:39 to put the Stars in front.

Blackwood gifted a goal to Justin Hryckowian and Dallas took a 3-1 lead. The goalie went behind the net to play the puck, but put it off Toews. When he tried to recover in front of the net, Blackwood got turned around and Hryckowian had a wide-open net to shoot at from the right circle.

Hryckowian created the fourth Dallas goal and ended Blackwood’s evening less than two minutes into the second period. He engaged with Josh Manson behind the Colorado net, created a turnover and fed Stars captain Jamie Benn in front for a goal from the edge of the crease at 1:52.

Scott Wedgewood replaced Blackwood after he allowed four goals on 11 shots. Wedgwood was spectacular at times, stopping all 10 shots he faced plus Jason Robertson and Matt Duchene.

“That was one of his best games, or partial games, that I’ve ever seen him play,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We gave up some glorious chances at the start when he went in there. We needed some saves to keep that game within reach.

“We needed a big performance from him going in there in order to win that hockey game and he was exceptional.”

Necas helped set up the first two Colorado goals, then he scored the third to bring the visitors back within one. MacKinnon slipped him the puck in the right circle, and Necas wired a wrist shot into the top-right corner for his 28th goal of the year.

He now has six goals and 14 points in six games since the Olympic break, which came after he led Czechia with three goals and eight points in Milan.

“I think (the Olympics) was a little bit of a coming out part for him,” Bednar said. “I think he realized that, and he’s come back and played with a ton of confidence. What I like about his game is he’s always been a dynamic offensive player, he’s putting more of an onus on his checking.

“He’s turning into not just a dynamic offensive player, but a trusted defensive player as well.”

MacKinnon continues to lead the NHL with 42 goals. He’s up to 103 points, which trails only Edmonton’s Connor McDavid.

This was the first of three meetings between the two best teams in the NHL between now and the end of the regular season. Dallas will come to Denver on March 18, while the Avs will be back here in North Texas on April 4.

Both teams should be closer to full strength by then. Dallas played this game without Mikko Rantanen, plus new trade additions Michael Bunting and Tyler Myers. Colorado was without Artturi Lehkonen and Kadri, whom the Avs added in a deadline-day stunner from the Calgary Flames.

Stars No. 1 center Roope Hintz did leave this game with a lower-body injury after he got tangled up with MacKinnon in the corner during the second period. He left the ice without putting any eight on his left leg.

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At least not good ones.

Nazem Kadri is an Av. Saying it brings goose bumps. And hip checks. And elbows to the throat.

A player no one wanted to leave is back.

“I have only been traded twice and it’s been to the same team both times,” Kadri said. “They must really like me.”

The Avs cannot forget him. No one can. Remember when Kadri addressed the crowd at the parade in 2022? We all do. Not for what he said. But what he wore.

He brilliantly trolled the Tampa Bay Lightning with a T-shirt that read, “Too Many Men,” a poke at the furious Tampa Bay boosters who alleged that Avs should have been whistled on Kadri’s game-winning goal in overtime of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Kadri remains memorable in so many ways.

He is a heel. He is a dawg. He brings out the best and worst in fans. Colorado rallied around Kadri after he received hateful online messages for his Muslim faith.

He is clutch. He is an agitator. He is a winner.

“Naz can do a lot of things for us. His track record speaks for itself. He has been a good 5-on-5 player. He has that fire-in-belly component we have all seen,” Avs general manager Chris MacFarland said in a conference call Friday. “He lives for the big moments.”

Kadril wanted to return to Colorado, where he was beloved on and off the ice. This will go down as the Avs’ biggest trade deadline move ever. It has company with the Rob Blake acquisition 25 years ago. And you all know how that turned out — with Ray Bourque raising the Stanley Cup above his head with tears in his eyes.

No other result is acceptable.

“That’s how you are measured, in Stanley Cups. That is how it is when you have this core group, when you have this team, and when you have this ownership,” said John-Michael Liles, a former Avs stalwart and Altitude Sports analyst. “That is the expectation.”

Yes, it is real. This is happening. The Avs were already the favorite, even with wobbles before the Olympic break, and this cements it.

“When I found out where I was going,” Kadri said, “my head about hit the ceiling.”

Be honest. We all thought the Kadri sweepstakes were over when Colorado acquired Nicolas Roy.

Calgary was not budging on eating a chunk of Kadri’s $49 million contract. But the Avs circled back, determined to land the player. Keeping him away from the Stars, Wild and Canadiens is a nice byproduct.

The Flames flinched, retaining 20 percent of Kadri’s deal and shipping off a fourth-round pick. That leaves a $5.6 million cap hit for the Avs over the next three years on Kadri, a manageable number that they would have happily paid in 2022.

He will be worth every dime, nickel and penny.

And what did Colorado give up?

Like the Rams, also owned by the Kroenke family, “F Them Picks.” They sent a conditional 2028 first-rounder, a conditional 2027 second-rounder, top prospect Max Curran and Victor Olofsson. Losing Curran stings. But nothing would hurt more than not maximizing the Avs’ championship window.

“We are trying to give our group its best chance,” MacFarland said. “If we can make them incrementally better, that’s what we will do.”

The Avs got Kadri. That’s not a move measured in inches, but exclamation points.

You can repeat this transaction 91 times and not believe it. It seemed impossible. Now the only thing hard to picture is how coach Jared Bednar will make all these beautiful pieces fit.

What a wonderful problem to have. Can you imagine a third line with Kadri or Brock Nelson?

In the span of 24 hours, the Avs landed a defensive center in Roy and a physical scorer in Kadri.

It opens an avenue to shift Nathan MacKinnon to a wing on occasion to give him more space to be a menace. Roy and Kadri have versatility. Forget game to game, this will allow movement of chess pieces from shift-to-shift to create favorable matchups.

The ice is frozen, but this situation is fluid. This a mix of dynamic, explosive and ridiculous.

“This is the opportunity I was looking for,” Kadri said. “This is what I was searching for.”

Let’s be clear, it addresses the Avs’ lone weakness. For reasons that defy logic, Colorado has boasted one of the NHL’s worst power plays all season.

It makes no sense with the Avs’ talent. Some of it is strategic. Some of it has been the departure of Mikko Rantanen. Some of it is trying to be too cute, too patient.

Kadri will give the unit a boost. Even at age 35. Even with his scoring down this season. Surround him with Avs’ jerseys, and the magic will return.

“He is a skilled hockey player who can make plays,” MacFarland said. “Naz in the middle out there, with his history, I think he will get a good look (to be on the power play).”

These are the kind of moves that shape legacies. MacFarland talks calmly, but operates every February with the urgency of MacGyver defusing a bomb.

Well, actually, he just drops them. Over and over. A year ago, he brought Nelson and Charlie Coyle aboard. He thought that team was capable of a deep playoff run.

This team is better.

Kadri’s presence will not guarantee a championship, but it adds a sharper edge. His physicality won’t secure a title, but his ability to crawl under the opponent’s skin will create an advantage. His goal scoring won’t bring a Cup, but he ensures they will no longer be naked in odd-man advantages.

Is it Cup or Bust?

“I understand the rationale of that question. I do,” said MacFarland, who has positioned this team to win rings this season and next. “There are a lot of good teams and only one will be happy at the end of it. It has to happen on the ice.”

And the Avs have more than a few good men to pull it off.

Nazem Kadri, who helped the Avs win the Stanley Cup in 2022, is returning to Colorado in a trade from the Calgary Flames. The Avs sent a conditional 2028 first-round pick, a conditional 2027 second, top prospect Max Curran and Victor Olofsson to the Flames for Kadri and a 2027 fourth-round selection.

“I’m certainly excited. I know our players are really, really excited,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said. “Naz is not only a good hockey player, he’s a really good person that was in those battles. He has the scar tissue with our leadership group of players and coaches. There’s an intimate trust that the moment is not too big.”

The 35-year-old Kadri has 12 goals and 41 points in 61 games for the Flames this season. He’s led Calgary in scoring each of the previous two seasons.

Kadri signed a seven-year, $49 million contract with Calgary in August 2022. Calgary is retaining 20 percent of Kadri’s contract, so the cap hit for the Avalanche will be $5.6 million for the next three seasons.

There is a new wrinkle in the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement — clubs must be compliant with the $95 million salary cap for every playoff game. But, instead of counting the full 23-man roster against the cap, it will only be the 20-man active lineup.

Even with Kadri, Roy and a healthy Logan O’Connor, the Avalanche will be able to ice its 20 best players and just barely be below the cap ceiling.

“Retention was an important part of the equation for us, for a variety of reasons,” MacFarland said. “It goes beyond what we were trying to do this year. I just think with the number of years left on the term of the deal, we were able to get it to a place that made sense for the return that Calgary got … and the math for us was a comfortable number for what we’re looking at over the next few years.”

A championship history

Kadri was the Avs’ No. 2 center from 2019-22. He had a career-high 87 points for Colorado during the 2021-22 season, plus seven goals and 15 points in 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help the Avalanche to its third championship in franchise history.

The NHL’s trade deadline is at 1 p.m. MT, but deals can be announced later in the day as long as they were logged in the queue with the league office before that. General manager Chris MacFarland said the Avs “would leave no stone unturned” ahead of the deadline, and Colorado ended up being one of the busiest teams in the final two days.

“It’s definitely been a whirlwind, a bit of a rollercoaster over the last few days,” Kadri said. “There’s been some conversations and discussions, but as a player, you never really know how that’s going to materialize.

“I got a call … actually it was after the deadline had ended. I thought I was possibly staying, then I got the call that Denver was the spot. It’s bittersweet, because I’ve really grown fond of the city of Calgary, but I think my head almost hit the ceiling, I was so excited.”

Colorado traded for another center, Nicolas Roy, the day before, from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Avs also added defenseman Nick Blankenburg, who slots in as the No. 7 guy on the depth chart.

“I see a lot of teams in our division, our conference adding size and strength here at the deadline,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said of Roy. “To get a big, 6-foot-4, long, strong centerman that can help out down low and play against those guys I think is a very good add.”

Aggressive at the deadline

Just like last season, the Avs made a second swap on deadline day at the position. Last year, the Avs added Brock Nelson and then Charlie Coyle a day later just before the deadline.

The Avalanche depth chart at center now includes Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson, Kadri, Roy and Jack Drury, not to mention Parker Kelly, Ross Colton and Zakhar Bardakov as further options.

“We feel like with the addition of the two guys, we’re very, very skilled in the middle of the ice, and they can also all check and check really well,” MacFarland said. “We think it makes us harder to play against in any type of game.”

Olofsson, signed to a one-year, $1.575 million deal in August, had 11 goals and 25 points in 60 games for the Avs. Curran who was a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL draft, had become arguably the club’s top prospect in a shallow pool. Colorado now has no picks in the first three rounds of the 2026 NHL draft, one second rounder in 2027 and a third-round selection in 2028.

The Avs also have arguably the best collection of talent and depth at the center position in the NHL.

“Over the years, I’ve been staying tuned (in) and following the group,” Kadri said. “What a team. I’m just so thrilled that I get to try and add to that.

“It’s funny — over the course of my career, I’ve only been traded twice and it’s been to the same team both times. They must really like me. I’m really excited to join this already great, great team.”

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