Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
All of it actually!
I get it though. I think we assume all Americans would rather play in the States or the East than in a western Canadian city.
Tkachuk said he was hoping Calgary would take him in the draft, which is the equivalent to a touring band saying Calgary rules at the Dome I'm sure, but could be true.
More than likely he sees Calgary as road stop, but we don't actually know this do we?
Similar to Boeser in Vancouver and Matthews in Toronto.
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I have no way of knowing this, but I have believed for a long time that the significant majority of NHL players want to make things work with the team that drafted them, and they want to spend their career playing for that one team. Of course, circumstances are a little different for everyone, but look at the opportunity Tkachuk has here in Calgary: He is a 21-year-old star player who is playing a meaningful role on a roster that looks like it will be highly competitive for at least the next three or four years.
I expect that Tkachuk's top priority is to maximize his earning potential, and that secondary to that is winning. If he has the chance to do both in Calgary, it seems likely that he would want to commit long term to what he knows, rather than taking a risk on an uncertain future with another organisation he knows nothing about. I think it is a good bet that Tkachuk prefers the quickest path to UFA, but not because he is in a hurry to move on and play elsewhere. It's all about maximizing the value of his next contract in a winning environment.