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Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
I agree.
If Johnny pulled the rug out from an agreement in the final days, yeah that sucks for Treliving who put a lot of myopic hope in re-signing him. But the bigger picture is that everyone ought to have realized that JG was a flight risk for a while..
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The Flames did realize he was a flight risk. So did the other 31 teams.
I think the whole league expected him to go to Philadelphia if he wasn't staying long-term in Calgary, though they probably had different opinions of the odds on that choice. If he had been traded to any other team, they would have been looking at him as a rental, figuring he would end up as a Flyer. And the Flyers had no motive to trade for him, since they weren't going anywhere last season and knew they could get him this summer without giving up any assets.
I don't think anyone expected the scenario that actually played out. The hockey media, pundits, GMs, fans all over the league, all had the same reaction: ‘Columbus? But why?!’
One year of a high-priced winger who just had two poor seasons is not the hottest commodity. I'm quite sure the Flames received offers, and decided that none of them were worth as much as keeping Gaudreau as an own rental. They may have been right or wrong in that; we'll never know without seeing what the offers were. But they did get his career season, a first-place finish in the division, and what matters still more, bums on seats.