Quote:
Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14
I dont wanna quote your whole post Jiri, but as much as I wanted Johnny here I do agree that a 8x10.5 contract would hamstring the team. He's a hell of a player with a very rare skill set in the same ilk as Panarin, but neither are worth those deals.
I would have had a lot more respect for Gaudreau if he would have been more forthright with his intentions to leave. Now I have no well wishes for him.
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How do you know he wanted to leave the entire time? There wasn’t anything leading up that would’ve indicated he was gone, especially that post season presser where it sounded like he was coming back. Heck, it even changed Eric Francis’ mind and he was adamant Johnny was gone years ago.
Personally, I think Gaudreau wanted to come back. He loves it here. He loves the team and the fans. But he’s married to a Philly girl and she’s pregnant. He’s also very close to his family. He’s probably been chilling at home and all month thinking, why don’t I just stay?
That’s why the team needed to sign him before he hit the market, the allure of home was coming home was going to be strong and the team couldn’t allow him that chance.
I believe him when he said last year that he was open to coming back, management just couldn’t pull the trigger. Maybe it was money, maybe they needed to see Johnny do it in the playoffs first, whatever it was, they didn’t get the job done and now the team has got no assets and barely any success during Johnny’s tenure.