Quote:
Originally Posted by powderjunkie
Do I really need to post a map of North America for you people?
11 months ago Johnny was probably looking at $64-68M over 8 years to stay in CGY.
He played well and the team played well - I'm sure he worked really hard and also had good luck that lots of things clicked.
Today he signed for $68.25M over 7 years. And moved nearly 2000 miles closer to home. That's 83% closer in absolute distance...probably even closer in most (but not all) practical terms.
He turned down $84 over 8 to test the market. I'm sure he hoped to do better than this...I'm sure he also knew this low was a possibility - though he probably didn't expect it.
It's not ideal compared to his hopes/expectations 1 day ago. But it's a massive improvement over his reality 11 months ago. I doubt he'll lose much sleep over this.
On the hockey side he has probably downgraded his playoff chances for the next 2-3 years from slight to very slim. Beyond that I'd bet on CBJ>CGY. It's currently hard to imagine any of his rumoured suitors developing into true contenders, though I think teams like CBJ/NJD/NYI only need a lot of luck to get there (CGY needs a metric tonne of luck IMO).
I won't say I predicted it, but I certainly said CBJ were an intriguing dark horse.
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I agree with this post. Logistically, Columbus is closer and allows easier travel when you consider no international flights, same time zone, and shorter travel time. Is it the best situation as far as being close goes? No. Is it a lot better? Yes. Plus, he will be in their region a lot more. There are 5 teams in his division that are close to his family home and he will be a lot more accessible to his family that way.
I also recall you saying Columbus was a possibility and they crossed my mind as well for the same reason I thought Detroit would be one. Young team with recent high picks and a lot of cap space. They were ready to make a splash. I think people under estimate them as a team on the rise and adding Gaudreau should make them pretty good in fact.