Quote:
Originally Posted by tvp2003
I find the numerous theories around what happened with Gaudreau -- based mostly on speculation -- are interesting because people seem so sure of themselves:
- He always wanted to go back to the US
- He waited until the last possible minute just to drive his value up
- He screwed himself by going to free agency and giving up $15.75M by not signing here
- He had to settle on Columbus only because Philly didn't make an offer
So which is it? He was always going to get less money by going to UFA and signing a seven year deal, so it seems silly to suggest he's dumb for leaving money on the table if in fact he wanted to play in the US all along. Meanwhile, if he was such a mastermind to negotiate with the Flames all the way to the 11th hour just to try and create a bidding war as a UFA, wouldn't he at least know which teams would be interested (and that Philly wasn't one of them)?
I know what I think is the most likely possibility, but I doubt anyone really knows other than Gaudreau's camp and Treliving.
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I think the other possibility is he was wishy washy and just couldn't decide (or at least communicate a decision) and even after he made his final demand (which was met) he wavered and then finally was forced to decide. I do think he was surprised by the fact he wasn't snapped up in hours and didn't want to wait around any more by the time Columbus made their offer.