Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Whatever Tkachuk has said in the media regarding his extension is entirely moot.
But irrespective of such comments, it is a safe assumption to think that Tkachuk's top priority is to sign his next contract with the Calgary Flames. I think most players tend to want to remain with the team that drafted them—unless something has gone spectacularly wrong—and especially so if things have gone very well. Tkachuk is a top player on a deep, contending team which offers him an excellent chance to win, and to maximize his value. Those are huge incentives for him to want first and foremost to re-sign in Calgary.
Any team which extends him an offer sheet will most likely not afford him the same competitive opportunity, and with such an offer there is also a lot of risk for the player. For example, Tkachuk already knows the coaches and management well; he has established long-term chemistry with several of the players; he knows the city and the market. All of these things in another city are complete mysteries.
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Could not agree with the bolded part more. As for players having loyalty to their drafted team, while true to an extent the data would say it's more the R in RFA that causes this, otherwise you'd see about the same churn as you do with UFA's.