[browna]

Firstly, I think his comments are more about what pro hockey players and professional athletes now in general are coached to do. Simple answers, giving up too much info about oneself or heir game or whatever off the ice is eventually going to end up not worth the hassle.

But this is not agnostic to the Flames as an organization.

With social media the way it is, things outside of the norm (by evidence of this itself) get picked apart and analyzed. With so many talking heads and those looking to make some hot takes to build up their own reputation or credibility, and enough people run with it to make it a story.

And yes this particular case is the national media covering this.

But, Francis and Valji (is he still around, I don’t think so) are part of that brigade looking to make a name for themselves and establish credibility. The above mentioned pearl clutching from Francis around Gaudreau and Monahan, and other things where he’s been snubbed by players or the organization in some regard so he decides to fire back with some half rumors presented as half truth, where he can hop on Edmonton or Vancouver radio and tell his story and have his ego stroked.

Francis especially loves this because now he has license to be the guy that Parekh can let his hair down with and become chummy with. Something he’s tried with other Flames and also likely a big reason why Flames players have told him to keep his answers to a minimum because Francis won’t be able to help himself and will jump all over that and twist things into something they aren’t.