I am not surprised by the news on gaudreau, I know many don't agree with my opinion, and I'm not saying gaudreau won't end up re-signing, however, I really don't see gaudreau rushing this.
The flames aren't a bonafide contender, there isn't a clear cut core, heck, the direction of the franchise is very much unclear even within a year or so. He also, has had a few down years, perhaps he wants to up his value going into the biggest financial moment in his lifetime.
Tough spot for the flames. However, given that the flames objectives are relatively short term, I'm not surprised that they didn't try to maximize long term return on the asset, given the impact on the short term outlook for the team.
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