[CliffFletcher]

Gaudreau really didn’t have many options. As far as we know only five teams expressed an interest in signing him: CGY, NYI, NJD, PHI, and CLB. CGY was the only one outside the Northeast U.S. - clearly the rest of the league knew he didn’t want to play anywhere else.

CGY had already pitched an offer that Gaudreau refused. CBJ reached out to him right away. NJD as well. But once they got a sense of the market for clearing cap space, NYI and PHI dropped out.

That left CBJ and NJD. CBJ offered 9.75. NJD offered ‘something in the nines.’ So probably lower than CBJ’s offer. There may have been personal reasons for not choosing NJD, but it also could have simply been that CBJ offered more money. Since Gaudreau was rumoured to be open to signing with PHI - where scrutiny would have been intense, it’s hard to credit the speculation that he chose CBJ to be out the limelight. They probably just offered the better deal than the one offered by the only other team in the running.

That also explains why he signed quickly. With only two teams in the running because of regional restrictions and a bad market for clearing cap, there was nothing to be gained from waiting it out.