Quote:
Originally Posted by AC
Well worth the listen, thanks for linking to this.
Steinberg and Francis both flat out say they know for a fact the Flames believed they had a deal in place with Gaudreau, which coincides the reports we've heard that the Flames agreed to Gross and Gaudreau's contract demands only for them to break the verbal agreement.
Steinberg says he heard the contract was imminent, minutes away from being official. If nothing else, Johnny (and his family) got cold feet at the last minute and went back on his word. Sounds incredibly unprofessional.
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His wife likely gave an ultimatum once she learned that Gaudreau was actually going to sign with the Flames. It's one thing to talk about wanting to move away, or staying, his wife probably expected him to leave for Philly and told him how she would respect whatever decision he made. Once it became firm that Calgary was actually being selected on, she put her hard foot down as she expected him to chose an option best for her, and he didn't.
Guys can be wishy washy and procrastinate on making tough decisions (I've been wishy washy on simple decisions like what ice cream flavour to get). I am sure Gaudreau genuinly was aching and hurting about this decision till the last minute, and even as he signed with the Blue Jackets.
People can argue about his wife not being the main deciding factor, but it quite literally the only thing that causes the chain of events to make sense,
especially if the NJ Devils offer is true. At that point, as Calgary was already off the table, NJ was also likely removed as an option by his wife even though it was for more money then Columbus.
In the end, it's awful for Flames fans, but we have to move on without Gaudreau, and it may be for the best.