The Colorado Avalanche organization is “aware of the threats made to Nazem Kadri” after the match on Saturday night in St. Louis, the team said in a statement on Sunday. They work with local law enforcement to investigate.
In the first period of Avalanche’s 5-2 victory on Saturday, Kadri clashed with blue defender Calais Rosen as the puck sat in front of St. Louis Jordan Binington’s goal. Kadri and Rosen fell in Binington, and the three spread out in the net. Binington suffered an injury during the game that will prevent him until the end of the series. The ice makers did not award a penalty in the game, and the league did not hand out any extra disciplines on Sunday.
The Avalanche did not comment outside of the statement, but there were a wave of online comments after the play, including threatening tweets, some of which were Islamophobic. Kadri is also a Muslim of Lebanese descent and is a founding member of the Hockey Diversity Alliance.
Akim Aliu, a former NHL player and chairman of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, tweeted that he had spoken to Kadri.
“Naz has been the target of so many racist attacks and threats last night that police had to be called in,” Aliu wrote on Twitter. “Racist attacks like this have no place in hockey and must be investigated and reported.
Kadri also received racist messages after stopping last season’s post-season, which his wife Ashley shared on an Instagram page made for their cat.
“(T) This happens to him regularly,” she wrote at the time.
Avalanche lead 2-1 in the series ahead of the Blues, and both teams have to play match 4 on Monday. Kadri is fifth in the Avalanche with six points this post-season and was the team’s third top scorer in the regular season with a career-high 87 points.
(Photo: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)
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