[News] Gaudreau missed team bus in NYC

[Buff]

Drinking and partying have been a thing in the NHL for decades. Just because today's generation is more dedicated to physical fitness doesn't mean that drinking still doesn't happen. Of course it does. It's only a big issue if it affects the player's on-ice performance and we have no clue if that's the problem with any player who isn't performing as we want them to. So it's silly to speculate about this garbage.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Weitz

I haven't heard Gaudreau party on a weekday since I complained when he partied hard on a week day

If that means anything ha

McDavid doesn't party because he's a NERD!

JG was setting up guys left and right tonight...would have 2 or 3 points if anybody could finish

[RedWinger89]

Not a big deal.

[FireGilbert]

Gaudreau looked fine tonight. If his teammates had any finish no one would care about the few turnovers.

[N-E-B]

Is it possible that he didn't miss the bus, but rather had other things to do and took a taxi with the teams permission? Spector is a hack and is making stupid assumptions, but hey, what's new?

[868904]

I think Gaudreau's problem is his broken finger/hand. Sure it's healed so that he can play, but his hands were everything, it is what made him the great player that he was. You have to think there is still some residual impact if not physically, then at least psychologically.

I mean Brouwer still looks like crap after breaking his hand, and he doesn't even rely on them like Gaudreau does.

I also still think that Gaudreau probably doesn't feel protected out there. The guy gets slashed on the hands 21 times in one game and not get a single call and the final time breaking his hand/finger. The referees aren't there to protect him and his teammates haven't really been there to protect him.

He wasn't taking nearly this much abuse in his first two seasons.

The Flames aren't tough enough and they aren't protecting Gaudreau and he can't play his game. Oilers are protecting McDavid and he can play his game.

I doubt Iginla waives to come back here, but he brings two things that would really fit opposite Gaudreau, shooting ability and the character to defend his teammates. Iggy will fight anyone who takes liberties with Gaudreau, he's done it all throughout his career and still does it. The only question is would Iggy waive to come here, probably not.

[868904]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

Gaudreau looked fine tonight. If his teammates had any finish no one would care about the few turnovers.

He did not look fine against Vancouver. He had a couple of nice setups, but he had a lot of turnovers and bobbled the puck a lot.

[Vinny01]

This season certainly has gone no where near my expectations and has been very shocking in all honesty.

We have all watched Gaudreau's progression over the last several years and everything seemed poised for another leap forward
Year 1 USHL - rookie of the year, drafted by the Flames 4th round
Year 2 NCAA- ppg season, tournament MVP, rookie of the year
Year 3 NCAA- 1.5 ppg, WJC gold medal and leading scorer, hobey baker finialist
Year 4 NCAA- 2ppg, hobey baker winner, signs NHL contract scores in only game
Year 4 NHL - 64pts, Calder finalist, first liner
Year 5 NHL - 78pts, 30 goals, 6th in league scoring
Year 6 NHL - looks like one of the 2-3 best players on the young stars team, doesn't sign until a couple days before the season opener, and it falls off a cliff

The way Johnny performed in his career and the World Cup had me declaring to my friends and colleagues that we have a generational player on our hands. A guy who will be one of the 5 faces of the game with the likes of McDavid, Matthews, Ekblad etc.

Watching him this year has been worrisome to say the least. Teams are taking away his time and space, he is turning the puck over constantly, and getting hit with far more regularity. He is on pace to get about 50pts and has not earned his $6.75M that appeared to be a steal when it was signed.

I do think he will bounce back but this is the most adversity he has faced likely in his career. Sure he has always been doubted and proved people wrong time and time again but now he is expected to dominate and is simply not doing it.

I have heard the rumors about his partying ways and that doesn't really bother me. I was his age 10 years ago and I remember how much I drank and partied compared to today.

Johnny is a competitor, and he has a burning passion to play hockey and be the best. I do not doubt him in the future but I am certainly surprised about this season and have backed off from the generational talent talk. I still think he can be a franchise forward however.

[Rejean31]

OMG, are we still talking about this?? Spector must be so proud. He has stirred up a real #### storm about his teams, and I mean the Oilers, because we all know Spector is a Oiler jock strap sniffer, most hated rival. Until Spector has proof from the Calgary Flames that Gaudreau did not have permission from the team to arrive on his own, then the frigging Oiler fan boy should not have written the article. This is nothing more than Spector being a Oiler fan boy and trying to sabotage the Flames.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Rejean31

OMG, are we still talking about this?? Spector must be so proud. He has stirred up a real #### storm about his teams, and I mean the Oilers, because we all know Spector is a Oiler jock strap sniffer, most hated rival. Until Spector has proof from the Calgary Flames that Gaudreau did not have permission from the team to arrive on his own, then the frigging Oiler fan boy should not have written the article. This is nothing more than Spector being a Oiler fan boy and trying to sabotage the Flames.

I think this has taken over as the Gaudreau discussion thread as his season and performance to date deserves its own topic

[GullFoss]

Meh...i dont think its any secret a few of the well paid players on this team like to party, johnny included. But do a lot of players around the legaue, including a number of the top 50 players int he league. And theyre in their early 20s, so presumably their bodies can handle it. And, its really difficult to know if on-ice performance has been affected or its become an issue with the team ect.

So the most anyone can really speculate is that if the team hasn't traded him, perhaps its not a concern for the franchise. And, the fact that they gave Johnny term also pointst to this likely being a non-issue. Never say never though - RE. Mike Richards / Jeff Carter.

[jayswin]

Wait, so if I'm reading that correctly, Weitz is neighbors with Gaudreau or has a friend that is and is providing updates on when he's out late? If true, that should get back to Gaudreau so he knows he's being reported on by his neighbor on public forums.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Wait, so if I'm reading that correctly, Weitz is neighbors with Gaudreau or has a friend that is and is providing updates on when he's out late? If true, that should get back to Gaudreau so he knows he's being reported on by his neighbor on public forums.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by Buff

Drinking and partying have been a thing in the NHL for decades. Just because today's generation is more dedicated to physical fitness doesn't mean that drinking still doesn't happen. Of course it does. It's only a big issue if it affects the player's on-ice performance and we have no clue if that's the problem with any player who isn't performing as we want them to. So it's silly to speculate about this garbage.

I actually get what you are saying, but I believe you are taking the wrong approach. You are essentially taking an innocent until proven guilty approach to the "partying" (which I agree is rampant in NHL players of that age group. Until you can for sure prove the partying is what is impacting the play, party on Garth..........

This isn't a court of law, and IMO it doesn't work like that. If Gaudreau wants to rip it up all the time, he better be playing well, then me as a fan, or me if I were his coach and management group would simply turn a blind eye to it (assuming they don't think he needs help for a major addiction). You earn your right not to have your "behaviours" questioned on any job. For example, I don't hassle any of my people at work for being a little late or leaving a little early.....as long as they are effective and get their #### done. If you aren't able to get your #### done well, and you are also shaving time out of your day, I'm going to strongly suggest you make sure you get in on time and stay as late as you need to.

Same will apply to Johnny. If are playing effective hockey, I don't care what you do off the ice. But if you are underachieving consistently, which he is, it's actually Johnny's responsibility to make sure his off ice behaviour isn't impacting his play, or even just can't be perceived as impacting his play. Showing up on time for practice, meeting team commitments and being as prepared as possible are table stakes for any player who isn't meeting potential. Johnny might not be struggling because of partying (but for the record I at the very least think it's a decent chunk of the problem), but until he turns it around, he hasn't earned the right to not be as prepared as possible, from the fans, the coaches or his team mates. Not like we struggled without the guy tbh.

[Classic_Sniper]

The whole partying too much theory can be pretty easily disproven considering Johnny has been partying since his rookie season. My friend has the pictures with him to prove it. His partying certainly didn't effect his impressive performance last year nor did it effect his World Cup performance or All Star Game performance as well.

I have quite a few of last seasons games PVR'd and I've watched a few of his old shifts to see what might have changed this season; and from what I've seen, the Gaudreau-Monahan line were consistently creating plays off the rush more often last season.

For whatever reason, Gaudreau has been alone on the rush a lot this season which has lead to him trying to do everything by himself. This has lead to an increasee in turnovers and frustration. If I was to venture a guess, it may be the new system or it might have to do with Monahan looking visibly slower this year, possibly because of the weight he added in the summer.

But whatever it is, the kid has proven to be amongst the most talented forwards in the league and still has the ability based on what I've seen in the WC and All-Star game. The chemistry just needs to be found again.

[FlameZilla]

I have it on authority from a bartending friend of mine – who has served Gaudreau & Monahan at this swanky hipster cocktail bar downtown a couple of times – that Gaudreau is a really respectful individual who never had more than one of two drinks when she's served him. Her manager doubled down on the praise for those two, saying that you couldn't ask for a more respectable pair of customers than Johnny & Mony.

I'm of the opinion that these athletes & celebrities deserve to be able to live their lives, and if that involves having a couple of drinks to celebrate or unwind now and then it's none of our business.

Also, as we saw with the Super Bowl party fiasco the previous season, we would have probably seen some discipline dished-out had Johnny not been given permission to make his own way to practice. It's not like he missed practice or was late. For all we know he was having breakfast with his family and it overran. New York is a hectic place and I'm sure Gaudreau has plenty of friends and family he needs to connect with while he's nearer his home.

People who are disappointed that Gaudreau isn't lighting the league on fire like he did last year are looking for any warts this kid might have so they can justify including them in their EA Sports-esque trade proposals. I don't think you can question his attitude and use that to explain the downturn in production – look to the change of system, the lack of preseason training sessions on said new system and the lack of a decent RW on his line. Look to the amount of extra attention opposing teams are giving him and the amount of obstruction and slashing he's receiving. He'll get back on the saddle, and it would probably help him if the fan base has his back and doesn't throw him under the bus at the first sign of him being a mortal human being.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

The whole partying too much theory can be pretty easily disproven considering Johnny has been partying since his rookie season. My friend has the pictures with him to prove it. His partying certainly didn't effect his impressive performance last year nor did it effect his World Cup performance or All Star Game performance as well.

I have quite a few of last seasons games PVR'd and I've watched a few of his old shifts to see what might have changed this season; and from what I've seen, the Gaudreau-Monahan line were consistently creating plays off the rush more often last season.

For whatever reason, Gaudreau has been alone on the rush a lot this season which has lead to him trying to do everything by himself. This has lead to an increasee in turnovers and frustration. If I was to venture a guess, it may be the new system or it might have to do with Monahan looking visibly slower this year, possibly because of the weight he added in the summer.

But whatever it is, the kid has proven to be amongst the most talented forwards in the league and still has the ability based on what I've seen in the WC and All-Star game. The chemistry just needs to be found again.

This a thousand times over...the system does not compliment his style...and not having enough talent on the team to play at his level.

[topfiverecords]

The new system sure does cause some fans to drink more, does it for the players as well?

/sarcasm

[Machiavelli]

http://www.calgarysun.com/2017/02/22...ohnny-gaudreau

As we knew, ain't no thang