Brewin Flames Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 (edited) Johnny Gaudreau tells Calgary Flames he will not re-sign with team, wants to test free agency Forward Johnny Gaudreau has told the Calgary Flames he will not re-sign with them, becoming the biggest name to hit the NHL free agent market that opens Wednesday. Flames general manager Brad Treliving confirmed that Gaudreau's time with Calgary had come to an end. "It's a disappointing day to say the very least," he said. "I firmly believe there's nothing more we could have done" The 28-year-old left wing spent all nine of his NHL seasons in Calgary, scoring 609 points in 602 games. He had a career high 115 points last season in 82 games, which included a career-best 40 goals. He's finished fourth in the NHL MVP voting in two of the past four seasons. There has been heavy speculation that the Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders could be among the suitors for Gaudreau, a native of Salem, a town in southern New Jersey. It's expected his free agent contract could cross the $10 million average annual value threshold. Only 14 players make $10 million or more against the salary cap in the NHL. The Flames desperately tried to keep Gaudreau, offering him a series of eight-year contract proposals with escalating dollar amounts. "This was not a situation where there wasn't enough money in the deal," said Treliving, who said he had a long, emotional discussion with Gaudreau about the decision on Tuesday. Treliving framed Gaudreau's decision as one fueled by family considerations, adding that Gaudreau is expecting a child with his wife, Meredith Morris, in the coming months. "We did everything possible to keep John here. It's my strong belief that this is a family decision, and I respect that fully," said Treliving. "He gave eight great years here, with a lot of memories. The hard part of this business is that we have to move on." Gaudreau made $6.75 million against the salary cap last season. Despite the financial flexibility, Treliving said he doesn't expect to find a replacement for his star winger in short order. "You're not signing a player to replace John. The wrong move right now would be to knee-jerk react and try to replace the player with the wrong response," he said. Attention now turns to the Flames' other star forward, Matthew Tkachuk. The 24-year-old, who scored 42 goals last season, is a restricted free agent. He received a $9 million qualifying offer Monday and also has arbitration rights. But he could leave as an unrestricted free agent in summer 2023. "No news on Matthew," Treliving said. "Like everything else, we will see what the days ahead bring." The Flames were one of the best teams in the NHL last season with 111 points in the standings, the second-best regular season in franchise history. But they lost to the rival Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs in five games. And now, they've lost their biggest star to free agency. Edited July 13, 2022 by Brewin Flames 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted July 13, 2022 Author Share Posted July 13, 2022 Johnny Gaudreau Made A Decision Based On Family & That's OK markparkinson14 - Yesterday 10:10 PM On Tuesday night Johnny Gaudreau told the Flames that he was not returning to the team and was going to test free agency. Take a deep breath and we'll talk in a second.........good now? Ok. © Photo by Derek Leung/Getty ImagesJohnny Gaudreau Made A Decision Based On Family & That's OK Yes, this isn't the outcome Flames fans and management wanted, but it is what it is. If all reports are correct the Flames had around $80 million dollars on the table for Gaudreau, but the draw of "home" appeared to be too much for the Flames winger. And you know what, that's fine. Johnny Gaudreau is married. He has a baby on the way and today he made a decision that was best for himself and his family. It's rare that an athlete chooses something other than money when it comes to a contract, but Gaudreau did just that. The Flames and Gaudreau's agent all said everything possible was done to keep him in Calgary, but Johnny Gaudreau decided it was time to end his run with the Flames. And there you have it. The greatest #13 and 4th round pick in Flames history is packing his bags and heading somewhere else. Where will that be, who knows. The Flyers, Islanders and Devils are all teams that have been tossed around in the last few weeks when the negotiations between the Flames and Gaudreau were going nowhere. I'm guessing it won't be long before we see where he signs and yes, it will certainly hurt, but this is where you need to remember sports is a BUSINESS. The sooner you accept that, the easier these things become. What happens next for the Flames is very important. Is it adding a top free agent to "fill" his role, extended Matthew Tkachuk, sign Oliver Kylington and Andrew Mangiapane and forge ahead? Or do they find a team willing to deal for Tkachuk, ship out some veteran contracts and start a massive rebuild? Either of these scenarios make perfect sense for the team and the first one certainly depends on what Matthew Tkachuk wants to do with his future. When the dust finally settles the Calgary Flames lost out on one of their best players of all time. For a fourth round pick, the Flames got more then you could imagine from a player from that section of the draft. Gaudreau finished his career with 692 games played in Calgary, 210 goals and 399 assists. He's 9th in career goals with the Flames and 5th in points and assists. Despite what's swirling around in your head right now, Gaudreau IS one of the greatest Calgary Flames players of all time. The worst part of this is you can add him to the list of great Flames players who deserved to be Flames players for their entire NHL career, but ended up leaving in their prime. In closing, don't be this fan: when he makes his first appearance in a different uniform at the Saddledome, don't "boo" him. He's done enough for the city and franchise that he deserves a long standing ovation and a tear inducing tribute video upon his return. Plain and simple. Johnny Gaudreau, thank you. Thank you for eight exciting seasons with the Flames and this writer wishes you NOTHING, but success in your future endeavors. July 12, 2022 will go down as a dark day in Flames History. Just add it to the pile of bad days in this franchise's history. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
On Tuesday night Johnny Gaudreau told the Flames that he was not returning to the team and was going to test free agency. Take a deep breath and we'll talk in a second.........good now? Ok. © Photo by Derek Leung/Getty ImagesJohnny Gaudreau Made A Decision Based On Family & That's OK Yes, this isn't the outcome Flames fans and management wanted, but it is what it is. If all reports are correct the Flames had around $80 million dollars on the table for Gaudreau, but the draw of "home" appeared to be too much for the Flames winger. And you know what, that's fine. Johnny Gaudreau is married. He has a baby on the way and today he made a decision that was best for himself and his family. It's rare that an athlete chooses something other than money when it comes to a contract, but Gaudreau did just that. The Flames and Gaudreau's agent all said everything possible was done to keep him in Calgary, but Johnny Gaudreau decided it was time to end his run with the Flames. And there you have it. The greatest #13 and 4th round pick in Flames history is packing his bags and heading somewhere else. Where will that be, who knows. The Flyers, Islanders and Devils are all teams that have been tossed around in the last few weeks when the negotiations between the Flames and Gaudreau were going nowhere. I'm guessing it won't be long before we see where he signs and yes, it will certainly hurt, but this is where you need to remember sports is a BUSINESS. The sooner you accept that, the easier these things become. What happens next for the Flames is very important. Is it adding a top free agent to "fill" his role, extended Matthew Tkachuk, sign Oliver Kylington and Andrew Mangiapane and forge ahead? Or do they find a team willing to deal for Tkachuk, ship out some veteran contracts and start a massive rebuild? Either of these scenarios make perfect sense for the team and the first one certainly depends on what Matthew Tkachuk wants to do with his future. When the dust finally settles the Calgary Flames lost out on one of their best players of all time. For a fourth round pick, the Flames got more then you could imagine from a player from that section of the draft. Gaudreau finished his career with 692 games played in Calgary, 210 goals and 399 assists. He's 9th in career goals with the Flames and 5th in points and assists. Despite what's swirling around in your head right now, Gaudreau IS one of the greatest Calgary Flames players of all time. The worst part of this is you can add him to the list of great Flames players who deserved to be Flames players for their entire NHL career, but ended up leaving in their prime. In closing, don't be this fan: when he makes his first appearance in a different uniform at the Saddledome, don't "boo" him. He's done enough for the city and franchise that he deserves a long standing ovation and a tear inducing tribute video upon his return. Plain and simple. Johnny Gaudreau, thank you. Thank you for eight exciting seasons with the Flames and this writer wishes you NOTHING, but success in your future endeavors. July 12, 2022 will go down as a dark day in Flames History. Just add it to the pile of bad days in this franchise's history.
thegx.ca Posted July 14, 2022 Share Posted July 14, 2022 Report: Gaudreau signs long-term deal with Blue Jackets https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/2385323 Columbus...? What the F...? What does Columbus have they suck...why would he go there...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted July 14, 2022 Author Share Posted July 14, 2022 tty Johnny Gaudreau is taking his talents to Columbus. The coveted free-agent star signed a seven-year deal with an average annual value of $9.75 million to join the Blue Jackets, the team announced Wednesday. The Calgary Flames reportedly offered Gaudreau an eight-year deal with a cap hit of $10.5 million, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, meaning he left nearly $16 million on the table before taxes to join Columbus, per TSN's Chris Johnston. "Johnny Gaudreau is a superstar in the National Hockey League, and we couldn't be happier to welcome him to the Columbus Blue Jackets family," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "He is an elite player with great character that makes the players around him better. We are thrilled to add a player of his caliber to our group. "This is an exciting day for our franchise, our fans and the city of Columbus." Gaudreau will take on the Flames on Dec. 9 in Columbus. He'll make his return to Calgary on Jan. 23. Flames general manager Brad Treliving confirmed Tuesday that the talented winger would test the open market. He added that he didn't anticipate the two sides would make a reunion work. Treliving also said he believes Gaudreau's choice to move on from the Flames was a family decision. The 28-year-old was closely linked to the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils heading into free agency. He grew up in southern New Jersey, near Philadelphia. The Devils reportedly attempted to acquire Gaudreau's services with a seven-year offer that carried an average annual value of over $9 million, according to LeBrun. Gaudreau was due for a substantial raise after playing out the final season of a six-year deal with a $6.75-million cap hit. He potted a career-high 40 goals and 75 assists for 115 points, finishing second in the Art Ross Trophy race behind Connor McDavid. He also ranked fourth in Hart Trophy voting this past season. In addition to ranking fifth all-time in franchise history with 399 assists and 609 points, he also entered Calgary's single-season record books in 2021-22. He produced at a 1.4 point-per-game clip, which is the third-best rate in Flames history. Gaudreau was a scoring threat virtually every time he hit the ice this past season. The Flames controlled 71.6% of the goals and 67.7% of the high-danger goals with him on the ice at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick. The six-time All-Star brings excellent playmaking ability to Columbus and will punch up the Blue Jackets' play at five-on-five - he led the league with 90 even-strength points in 2021-22, which is 12 clear of McDavid, who had the second most. Gaudreau ranks sixth in points and third in assists among all active players since his first full season in 2014-15. Selected by the Flames in the fourth round of the 2011 draft, Gaudreau suited up for 602 career NHL games, all with Calgary. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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