[Rumour] UPD: Friedman: Thinks a deal will get done between Gaudreau and the Flames in the next week

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by Gaudreauvertime

He's not a proven star? 2 time all star, MVP on his world cup team, 6th in league scoring, 3rd amongst LW'ers in points in his two seasons in the league.

He's absolutely a proven star.

Did they hand out awards?

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Robbob

Did they hand out awards?

He also previously referred to Johnny as "our playoff MVP".

I guess Hartley must have had little trophies made for their post season team meeting.

I wonder who got an alarm clock for always being tardy.

[Gaudreauvertime]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

He also previously referred to Johnny as "our playoff MVP".

I guess Hartley must have had little trophies made for their post season team meeting.

I wonder who got an alarm clock for always being tardy.

You do know that MVP just stands for most valuable player, and doesn't imply an award of any sort.

Do you not agree that he was the team's MVP during the playoff run? Or that he was the MVP of his world cup team? Most people agree with both.

[wingmaker]

Originally Posted by Red Menace

I guess sensationalistic, myopic, reactionary and premature are all code for: disagrees with my position.

I think $8 is a bit too high for Gaudreau as well, but it is in the ballpark.
And my point was to show that yes there have been neutral observers who have said he is worth that much.

This is the exact reason why this thread keeps going around.

The contract negotiation is not about what Gaudreau is worth. He does not have any bargaining power. Yes, he can sit out games, but that means he really only has one card to play and the Flames can call his bluff. Other than that he has no power to force the Flames' hand. If he does sit out, there is risk on his side, as well. Not just on the Flames side.

We can all sit around and discuss his worth, 8 million, 9 million, whatever. I am sure Johnny and his agent would love this conversation. But because of the CBA, the Flames are not offering him what he is worth, they are offering what makes sense in their cap structure. Obviously, they want to be fair so that the relationship remains good, but they are not going to offer him what UFA free agent players have signed for. Not only would it be bad from a cap perspective, but it would be very dangerous from an owner's perspective.

This is the reality. Like it or not. Perhaps this issue will lead to another stalemate at the end of the current CBA. Who knows. But for now, that is the deal. The entire structure of player salaries is based on them having to take smaller contracts earlier in their careers and the teams that drafted them having a lot of power to ensure that this happens.

Perhaps, as Bingo has suggested, they will reach a bridge deal and revisit this again in the near future, when Johnny has more options at his disposal. But either way, worth is not really what is on the table, at least not if your in management's seat.

If Treliving does cave and give him a big contract, you will see a lot more RFA's sitting out in the future. It will mean a complete change in how business in the NHL is conducted.

[polak]

Sign a two year deal. Let Johnny prove he's worth 9, regret not signing him for 7.5.

Call it a day.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Gaudreauvertime

You do know that MVP just stands for most valuable player, and doesn't imply an award of any sort.

Do you not agree that he was the team's MVP during the playoff run? Or that he was the MVP of his world cup team? Most people agree with both.

He was definitely not their MVP in the playoffs.

And no, most people did not call him the MVP of TNA - though he was one of a few players that everyone agreed played well.

Your opinions and sensationalism do not equate to facts.

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by flambers

I agree during training camp, I doubt there is a distraction.

However when the season starts if Gaudreau is still a hold out.

It will be a distraction in my view, especially if the Flames start the season and are struggling.

I would predict the media will ask the players the same question over and over.

And it will rub his team mates the wrong way for sure.

[FlamesNation23]

Woo everyone's favourite news breaker at hockeybuzz says deal is getting closer:

"There is more going on behind the scenes than anyone knows...The Flames internally have put the wheels in motion and changed their tune a bit."

Means pretty much nothing since its eklund but its nice reading something positive for once after seeing the massive freakout in this thread.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by polak

Sign a two year deal. Let Johnny prove he's worth 9, regret not signing him for 7.5.

Call it a day.

No, no, no.

You don't do that because we won't be a contender for the next two years (likely), and cap concerns don't matter. But when we are going to be good we will have to pay not only Gaudreau, but Monahan, Bennett, Tkachuk, Elliott (or whoever starts), Hamilton, Giordano, Brodie, etc. etc. etc. You want to sign him long term because you will have a lower cap hit long term by having him add his RFA years of value to a UFA value contract. You remember how that 2 year bridge deal worked out for Subban and the Habs? His cap his is over $9 million now, and they realized they had to trade him to build a more competitive team.

If you give Gaudreau a bridge deal, not only do you risk losing him to an offer sheet (or having his contract inflated due to an offer sheet), but you also don't get to sign him for a lower AAV since he's closer to UFA status. That ruins the rest of the team's structure when you're paying $8-9 million for a player you could have had during the same period of time for $7 million or less.

People are so bloody short-sighted when it comes to team building.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Gaudreauvertime

Do you not agree that he was the team's MVP during the playoff run?

You are not asking me, but no, I do not.

Or that he was the MVP of his world cup team?

Yes, I would agree, but I don't put a lot of stock into how important or useful this distinction is in this tournament, or on this team. It has not really been brought up, but one of the reasons Team NA was so much fun to watch was because the coaches basically set players loose to do whatever they wanted (because Todd McLellan is dumb), and they played with virtually no pressure. How much does that factor in to gauging the value of individual performances?

Most people agree with both.

Are you sure about that? Please show me that "most people agree" with your completely anecdotal opinion regarding Gaudreau's performance in the 2015 playoffs and in the World Cup. In actual fact, I see a significant number of people suggesting (incorrectly) that Team NA's MVP was Connor McCaptain.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I really, really hope the Flames put their feet down here and don't offer a penny over $7 million a season. I'm probably in the minority here but would be perfectly fine with him sitting out the entire season if it goes that far. This is a very big and influential contract negotiations and it's important that the Flames exercise the fact that they ultimately control the fate of the player here. If teams like the Flames start folding their cards for top RFA's it's going to weaken their foundation as they have several top 10 picks that will also require raises and the idea was that teams were to be able to take advantage of the RFA years to balance salaries of veteran players in their prime. If all these RFA's demand UFA money then the RFA period simply turns into early UFA payday with the asterisk of the player not being able to choose his team.

I am with you here EE, in principle. Now practically speaking, if $7.2 gets an 8 year deal done, do you still feel this way and let him sit out until he comes down to $7? Its hard to say without being in the room, and who has more resolve. You just hope everyone's being reasonable.

I don't believe $8M per is reasonable. Who knows if he's really asking that.
I also don't believe a Gio cap is a logical idea. Who knows if that's areal thing.

[Strange Brew]

As for this being a distraction. Well some people thought the 3 headed goalie situation was a distraction. I hope this team is not as fragile as that.

But it would be nice to get Gaudreau and Russell into camp for a week at least. I have heard something about a new coach and system.

[Flames_F.T.W]

Everyone's favourite, Eklund is stating there have been some positive developments behind the scenes of Gaudreau's negotions and the Flames have "changed their tune a bit"....... of course he's not reliable, but in the absence of updates, I'll take anything positive!

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

As for this being a distraction. Well some people thought the 3 headed goalie situation was a distraction. I hope this team is not as fragile as that.

But it would be nice to get Gaudreau and Russell into camp for a week at least. I have heard something about a new coach and system.

Russell? No way.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Russell? No way.

Way

[Yappin Tappin]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

He was definitely not their MVP in the playoffs.

And no, most people did not call him the MVP of TNA - though he was one of a few players that everyone agreed played well.

Your opinions and sensationalism do not equate to facts.

Fans voted on Team NA MVP and Gaudreau won by quite a bit. http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/sh....php?t=2128121

Yes I know, HF is frowned upon by many here for most things, but as a collective group of fans across the NHL, seeing the majority vote for Gaudreau indicates to me that he was seen by many to be the team's best player. Especially since you have so many Toronto and Edmonton fans on that forum and they had their chance to be biased and vote for McDavid or Matthews.

Now if by people you mean professional analysts, then yes I agree no one mentioned him as MVP, but I don't think I heard an analyst mention anyone as MVP from that group since they did not get far enough into the tournament. He was however identified as a player who impressed many analysts.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

He was definitely not their MVP in the playoffs.

And no, most people did not call him the MVP of TNA - though he was one of a few players that everyone agreed played well.

Your opinions and sensationalism do not equate to facts.

he was at the very least tied for MVP on TNA...Austin Matthews tap-ins aside

[GGG]

Wasn't Mackinnon pretty clearly the best player in the tournament. I mean everyone wanted to choose between McDavid, Matthews, or Johnny but the older guys on the team were better.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

I am with you here EE, in principle. Now practically speaking, if $7.2 gets an 8 year deal done, do you still feel this way and let him sit out until he comes down to $7? Its hard to say without being in the room, and who has more resolve. You just hope everyone's being reasonable.

I don't believe $8M per is reasonable. Who knows if he's really asking that.
I also don't believe a Gio cap is a logical idea. Who knows if that's areal thing.

Well I don't know if Treliving and the Flames feel they have seen enough of Johnny to take a leap on an 8 year deal. I feel the security of 8 years to the Gaudreaus should be worth more of a discount. With the Canadian dollar in the dumps for the foreseeable future the talk a few years back of an $80 million salary cap have all but disappeared do the Flames need to be prudent when it comes to handing out major term and I expect they are looking for a term similar to the Monahan contract.

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by Gaudreauvertime

Do you not agree that he was the team's MVP during the playoff run? Or that he was the MVP of his world cup team? Most people agree with both.

I disagree with the bolded. In the playoffs themselves I think Brodie was the MVP. 27 minutes a night of low error hockey and 5 points to go along with it.