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Originally Posted by Textcritic
In the first place, Gaudreau is NOT being "severely undervalued" by anyone. I think it is fair to say that every poster in this thread has projected his contract to land somewhere in the range of recent RFA deals signed by Filip Forsberg on the low end and Vladmir Tarasenko on the high end. He might end up earning a little more than Tarasenko on a long-term deal (I personally doubt it), but it will certainly be close. Second, No one is disputing figures in the $8–9 m range because Gaudreau is a "small skilled winger." They are doing so because he is a Restricted Free Agent with no arbitration rights. His current contract status factors demonstrably into what his next contract will pay, and that is within the range I have suggested. Third, In the past twenty years there have only been TWO wingers to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, and I emphatically contest the notion that Kessel was a clear favourite for the award who was "robbed" this past Spring.
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Ekblad and Tarasenko both got 7.5M AAVs with less proven than Gaudreau. I don't even know how you can say Forsberg is a floor, the floor should be Forsberg + 10%, ceiling Tarasenko +10%, so that's between 7M and 8M on a 7 year deal.
Also - go back through this thread, there are many people discounting the value of Gaudreau because he's (1) small and (2) a winger.
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Look. Everyone here would agree that Gaudreau is one of the Flames best players, and perhaps even the best of the lot. But what is most exasperating in this thread is not our collective failure to elevate our opinion of him to your level as one of the all-time greats, but rather your utter refusal to acknowledge that there are other players on the team who are in the MVP conversation. It is not in any way disrespectful to recognise that while Gaudreau is a sensational talent, he is not such a spectacular player as to make everyone else on the roster dispensable.
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Recognition of Gaudreau's ability doesn't imply that anyone is dispensable, and I never said anything remotely to that effect. Brodie is a great example, I could see arguments for him being the most valuable player on this team (but not asset). I don't see an argument for anyone else at this point. Just being honest.