[Dion]

“Just having the GM and the coaching staff show interest in me, it makes me feel great. It makes you want to get to Calgary right away.”

" woke up at, like, 3 a.m. and saw my phone going off,” Elliott said Saturday. “I didn’t get much sleep after that. It’s a little bit crazy to be on vacation, but it’s something that happens in the NHL. I’m definitely excited about it.”

"Between both parties, we realized it was probably best to try and find a home for me somewhere else,” Elliott said. “I wanted to have that opportunity, just based on how the past couple years have gone. (Allen) is a really good goaltender and is a good friend of mind. I don’t want to go out with bad blood.

“I respect St. Louis, the city and the organization. I think they respected me as well. I think they wanted to give me an opportunity and I worked hard for it, but they weren’t able to give it to me.”

“I just want to try and create a culture in the dressing room that’s a winning atmosphere,” he said. “Sometimes with younger teams, that gets lost a little bit. You can’t just throw your stick on the ice, go out and play, and try to win a game. When every detail counts and guys are accountable for their actions, everybody can count on each other and get things done. That’s what I’m looking forward to being a part of and trying to cultivate that winning attitude.

“I want to make Calgary one of the toughest places to play.”

"Going back to his years in college (at the University of Wisconsin, 2003-07), this is a guy that doesn’t allow bad goals,” said Brian Burke, the Flames’ president of hockey operations.

“He’s a battler. This is a guy that gives second-effort games. He’s a professional.

“He’s approached the goaltending position professionally.”

"He’s had to fight for the net … because management has always felt there’s a goaltender there that’s his equal,” said Burke. “That’s certainly not the situation with us.”

Re-upping him costs the Flames the aforementioned third-round pick (in 2018) and, of course, a plumped-up wage.

“It’s helpful, but it wasn’t the deciding factor,” Burke said of Elliott’s modest ticket. “The deciding factor was we wanted the goaltender … we haven’t ruled out extending him.”

http://calgaryherald.com/sports/hock...nding-decision#