Two days later and trying to do a post mortem on the Flames side of things, guess i have three main comments:
1) Flames obviously misread Gaudreau's interest in staying. Impossible to say whether they should have been able to figure this out. As an outsider, there did seem to be some signs he wasn't fully invested in staying in Calgary so were they only focused on seeing and hearing what they wanted to see and hear?
2) Lots of things they can't change about the team and where they play. But an honest assessment of the organizational culture should be done. Do players want to play here? Are you doing everything you can to attract talent given whatever limitations you have?
3) Assessment of talent. Why were the Flames offering so much more than anyone else? NJ didn't budge on their limits and let him sign elsewhere yet Flames were basically willing to give JG whatever he wanted. Not sure I buy that he was worth more to Calgary than any other team, his history was a sunk cost. I'm also concerned if the rumor is true they offered him the C. They really see him as a leader?
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