Quote:
Originally Posted by bax
Gaudreau has won championships and every level he’s played at before the NHL. He overcame the odds and worked until he was one of the very best players in the world. To say he doesn’t care about winning is just silly. Especially based off of a quote from a laid back spittin chiclets interview.
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I think Johnny cares about winning and he drives himself to be better every year but I still think he lacks maturity. It is evident in how he handled his exit from the flames and how he conducted himself in interviews in the days after. Remember this is a player who was scratched for getting wasted for the Super Bowl and showing up late to work. This team was called out for individual goals and not team goals by veterans and coaches. This is a player who was criticized for not eating well or taking the best care of his body
End of the day he is one of the most talented players in league and the team was willing to give him $84M to continue his career here. He seems like a very likable person but I do believe he has/had some maturity issues that helped contribute to the sour taste in the mouths of Flames fans who worshiped him as a player.
If he truly cared about winning first and foremost would he choose a franchise that has missed the playoff in 15 of the 21 years in the league? It has been reported Johnny hates to lose but what makes this move so confusing is he didn’t leave Calgary to end up with the Devils who have a bunch of top 5 picks ready to breakout or the Islanders a team that has played deep in the 2 previous seasons before this. He chose the most mediocre franchise in the league and left $15M on the table to do so while the team he left has won the pacific in 2 of the last 3 seasons and has all the pieces to compete right now. Leaving a legacy of being the best to wear the jersey.
It was within his rights to do what he did but even to this day it makes little to no sense.