Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
But the pressure on Tkachuk's side is just as pronounced as it is on the Flames.
If he sits out a full season, that is a full-year's earnings lost, and it sets in jeopardy his own NHL future. Not that Tkachuk would not play in the NHL, but more rather that his NHL rights and future remain controlled by the team he has just rebuffed. Make no mistake: the last thing Tkachuk wants to happen is to miss games because of this—to say nothing for several weeks of missed time or a full season.
Like you point out, it's not as easy as you make it sound.
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Obviously there is pressure in different ways on both sides.
The situation right now isn't a nylander situation where the Leafs had cap space to sign him but didn't want to pay the price, the situation right now is the Flames don't have capspace to sign him.
The Flames also need Tkachuk a hell of a lot more than the Leafs needed Nylander.
Right now there is some ambiguity about just how much Tkachuk impacts the lineup, but in a situation where he goes unsigned for the month of October for example, and the flames are a 500 or sub 500 team, the pressure on the flames is substantially higher.
In the middle of your contending window you don't let your second best offensive player sit out and lose a ton of games as a result just to prove a point. Treliving is on the hot seat here, getting behind the 8 ball because you didn't make enough room to sign one of your best players isn't a great look after the last 2 seasons he's had.
I don't think there is any real concern or debate between the organization and tkachuk's camp on what he's going to be paid. The problem of not signing tkachuk is directly related to the lack of cap dollars the Flames have.
IMO, this is a one sided issue at this point; the flames need to get their house in order.