Quote:
Originally Posted by Heavy Jack
With what Kypreos said this really rings true. Really hard for me to hate Johnny, have 3 of his jerseys and he’s been my fav player ever to follow from the day he was drafted until now but man… what an absolute knife in the back of a franchise that gave you the chance. I get that it’s a business, I get that it was his choice that he earned but it’s hard for me to understand this position from Johnny and it’s a different side to the guy that we’d never really seen before. It’s really hamstrung the flames from doing anything meaningful during the draft and now with UFA unless they make a decision that clearly won’t have had any or as much time to be considered that would be desirable. What an absolute pickle the Flames find themselves in because of Johnny, it’s unbelievable but at the same time I guess it’s not when you look at the Tavares and Panarin UFA scenarios. Just really sucks that it’s happening to us and our player was a 115 point unicorn winger lol.
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I feel the same about the way he handled this. It wasn't a stand-up way of dealing with the organization. His last press conference after the playoffs he talked about wanting to be remembered as a good person in Calgary, but choosing this path in negotiations won't leave that impression. It was a long relationship, and he chose to take a pretty harmful approach in how it ended. Fine, that is his right and he put family above money etc., but he didn't need to take it down to the wire like that and the stand-up thing to do with someone you've had a long-term relationship with would have been to make the decision earlier and make it clear. It's not the decision he reached that ultimately makes him look bad, but the timing of the decision along with when it was communicated between parties.
I happily cheered on Iggy after he left, and I happily cheer on Gio and Brodie still. I'm happy seeing Hamilton and other former Flames who gave a lot to the team find success in new places, but this departure feels different. Despite Johnny having been my favorite player over the years I don't find myself having much will to cheer him on in his next destination.