Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri let his play on the ice quiet St. Louis Blues fans who had been sending him death threats and racist messages ahead of Game 4.
Kadri recorded a hat trick in Game 4 of the Avalance vs Blue Round 2 NHL playoff series Monday night at Enterprise Center. Kadri’s incredible performance comes after Blues fans bombarded him with death threats and racial slurs over the past 48 hours.
Kadri was involved in a controversial collision in Game 3 in which he injured Blues’ goalie Jordan Binnington. Even though the play looked accidental, St.Louis players and their fans were not happy with Kadri.
Binnington threw a water bottle at Kadri after the game, while St.Louis fans took their displeasure to social media. Blues’ fans sent such severe death threats and racist attacks to Kadri that the local authorities had to get involved.
Despite all the hate directed towards Kadri, he still managed to lead his team to victory in Game 4. Kadri told Sportsnet after the game that he used the death threats and racist messages as motivation.
“That was all my motivation”, Kadri told Sportsnet reporter Dan Murphy in a post-game interview. “Thank the St.Louis fans for that one.”
Kadri also delivered another inspiring interview with the broadcast network TNT after Game 4. “Unfortunately, I’ve been dealing with that for a long time”, Kadri said in regards to the threats.
Kadri told TNT he understands the hateful messages don’t reflect every fan in St. Louis. But he delivered that performance for the ones that have been hating. “For those that hate, that’s for them”, Kadri said.
"For those who hate, that was for them."
Nazem Kadri spoke to the panel about his performance tonight in St. Louis and dealing with the threats he received after Game 3 pic.twitter.com/w88yIGm7Yf
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) May 24, 2022
Kadri finished with four points in a 6-3 victory for the Avalanche. The series now shifts back to Colorado for Game 5 where the Avalanche will have the chance to punch their ticket to the Western Conference Final on Wednesday.
Kadri could’ve handled the racial attacks in a much different way, but he decided to let his play on the ice do the talking in Game 4. Kadri, who is a Muslim of Lebanese descent, has been dealing with these types of threats since entering the league in 2009.
Even though the Avalanche forward isn’t the most well-liked NHL player due to previous suspensions, you have to appreciate how he responded to threats that no player should ever have to deal with.
