Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Seravalli: Gaudreau has informed the Flames he will not return

Ferarri · 07-12-2022, 10:49 PM

I’ve had some time to process the news and honestly I feel gutted. While I understand the decision for family reasons, it still hurts to have your best player walk away. Perhaps the rumours are right that he was conflicted and didn’t really know till the end, but I think at some point this was the inevitable decision. Wish there would have been some more goodwill towards the organization and that this news could have been conveyed earlier.

I really don’t know how invested I will be next year or beyond. Yes, the rules are the same for all clubs but being a small market Canadian team automatically puts you at a huge disadvantage as witnessed today. It’s hard to invest money and time with the team when you know the reality of the game favours big markets.

I wish Johnny the best but this is just another nail in the coffin of being a flames fan. Hopefully we can pivot to plan B but there is no way you can replace the contributions of a Gaudreau.

Where to go from here…who knows? Lots of question marks and is now the opportunity to blow it up? Not sure I have appetite for more poor flames hockey. Like I said, hard to be optimistic right now and wish there had been some more goodwill towards the organization from a player who was made a superstar here.

Good luck to Johnny and his family (he earned the right to leave) but let’s see if it’s a decision he regrets later down the road.

07-12-2022, 10:49 PM	#1010
Ferarri First Line Centre Join Date: Sep 2007 Exp:	I’ve had some time to process the news and honestly I feel gutted. While I understand the decision for family reasons, it still hurts to have your best player walk away. Perhaps the rumours are right that he was conflicted and didn’t really know till the end, but I think at some point this was the inevitable decision. Wish there would have been some more goodwill towards the organization and that this news could have been conveyed earlier. I really don’t know how invested I will be next year or beyond. Yes, the rules are the same for all clubs but being a small market Canadian team automatically puts you at a huge disadvantage as witnessed today. It’s hard to invest money and time with the team when you know the reality of the game favours big markets. I wish Johnny the best but this is just another nail in the coffin of being a flames fan. Hopefully we can pivot to plan B but there is no way you can replace the contributions of a Gaudreau. Where to go from here…who knows? Lots of question marks and is now the opportunity to blow it up? Not sure I have appetite for more poor flames hockey. Like I said, hard to be optimistic right now and wish there had been some more goodwill towards the organization from a player who was made a superstar here. Good luck to Johnny and his family (he earned the right to leave) but let’s see if it’s a decision he regrets later down the road.