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The Avalanche are working with law enforcement in St. Louis after threats were made towards center Nazem Kadri following the team’s Game 3 victory against the Blues on Saturday night.
The threats came after Kadri was involved in a collision that resulted in a series-ending injury for Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington. After Kadri and St. Louis defenseman Calle Rosen crashed into Binnington, the goalie sustained a lower body injury that forced him to leave the game. The Blues ruled him out for the rest of the series on Sunday.
Officials did not penalize Kadri for the play and the league did not hand out any additional discipline. However, there were many derogatory online comments directed at the Avalanche center after the game, including threatening tweets.
Colorado issued a statement on Sunday, saying “the Avalanche organization is aware of threats made toward Nazem Kadri and is working with local law enforcement to investigate,” according to Michael Spencer of CBS Denver.
On Sunday, former NHL player Akim Aliu tweeted that he had spoken to Kadri and shared the Avalanche center “has been subject to so many racist attacks and threats since last night that police had to be brought in.”
Kadri, who is a founding member of Hockey Diversity Alliance alongside Aliu, is a Muslim of Lebanese descent.
“Racist attacks like this have no place in hockey and should be investigated and reported on,” Aliu said.
Kadri defended the play where he collided with Binnington after the game, explaining that he was going after a loose puck. However, that wasn’t the end of the gripe between the two players.
As Kadri was doing a postgame interview with TNT and discussing the collision, he suddenly paused. When he continued speaking, he told the broadcast that Binnington may have thrown a water bottle at him. According to Peter Baugh of The Athletic, two people confirmed it was Binnington who threw the water bottle.
The Avalanche will carry a 2–1 series lead into Game 4 on Monday night in St. Louis.
