The aftermath of a collision between Avalanche center Nazem Kadri and Blues goalie Jordan Binnington has escalated to a dangerous degree.
With Binnington now expected to miss the remainder of the Round 2 series, St. Louis police have been called to look into threats made against Kadri, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Sunday. According to former pro hockey player Akim Aliu, who said he spoke to Kadri, Kadri has been on the receiving end of racist attacks and threats.
Talked to @43_kadri
— Akim Aliu (@Dreamer_Aliu78) May 22, 2022
About his inadvertent collision w Binnington. Naz has been subject to so many racist attacks and threats since last night that police had to be brought in. Racist attacks like this have no place in hockey and should be investigated and reported on.
An Avalanche spokesman said in a statement (per the Post-Dispatch) that it was aware of the threats and would work with local police.
Bill Daly, the NHL's deputy commissioner and chief legal officer, put out a statement in regards to the threats directed at Kadri, stating, "We take threats made to any of our Players or other Club personnel seriously. We are in touch with St. Louis Police Department and they are employing enhanced security procedures both at the arena and in the hotel."
Following Colorado's Game 3 win Saturday, Kadri was explaining to "NHL on TNT" the collision with Binnington that caused the goalie to leave the game. During the interview, Binnington appeared to throw a water bottle at Kadri.
"Just tried to poke the puck free, I think their weakside defenseman hit me and that's what caused the collision," Kadri said in the interview. "I hope he's all right. I'm not sure if he just threw a water bottle at me or not, but I mean, not much I can do, man."
"Not sure if he just threw a water bottle at me" 😳
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 22, 2022
Nazem Kadri appears to have a water bottle thrown at him while discussing the collision with Binnington 🔎 pic.twitter.com/6XLbAdxEEm
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The Athletic's Peter Baugh reported that two people confirmed Binnington had thrown the bottle at Kadri, and The Athletic's Tarik El-Bashir later found the bottle in question.
I've talked to two people who confirmed it was indeed Jordan Binnington who threw the water bottle at Nazem Kadri. https://t.co/QCBRoA9SZY
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) May 22, 2022
.@Liam_mchugh: pic.twitter.com/0FlVTGaJyn
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) May 22, 2022
The collision forced Binnington out of the game and brought in Ville Husso, who allowed four goals to Colorado in the 5-2 Game 3 loss. According to NHL.com, Binnington will be out for the remainder of the second round.
Ville Husso is now in between the pipes for the @StLouisBlues after Jordan Binnington left with an injury on the play below. ⤵️#StanleyCup | #stlblues pic.twitter.com/8oaGHdPHH2
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 22, 2022
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Bally Sports Midwest reporter Andy Strickland said the NHL's Department of Player Safety told the league that a collision between Kadri and St. Louis defender Calle Rosen as they went for a loose puck caused the collision with Binnington, and that there will be no response to the goalie crash.
The @NHLPlayerSafety is not expected to react to the Nazem Kadri bulldoze of Jordan Binnington. Told the league feels the collision with the defenseman (Calle Rosen) as they’re both going for a loose puck causes the goalie contact. #stlblues #GoAvsGo #StanleyCupPlayoffs
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) May 22, 2022
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After the game, Baugh reported that Blues coach Craig Berube said to "look at Kadri's reputation" when discussing the hit on Binnington. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said that the reputation "doesn't mean anything" and that the play was "either a legal play or it's not." Bednar compared it to the injury suffered by Colorado defender Samuel Girard, who was hit by St. Louis forward Ivan Barbashev. Girard broke his sternum, ending his postseason.
"We've talked about this with Naz and the way he's trying to change his reputation, making sure that he's playing through checks and plays legal or not legal, and they're going for, that [defenseman] and Naz are both going for a loose puck sitting at the top of the crease, skating in there downhill as hard as they can go and both guys go in there. They're both going after the puck the same way and they collide before they go in," Bednar said, according to Baugh. "Again, unfortunate, same as Girard for me and it's unfortunate, but it is what it is."
