[Signing] Gaudreau to Columbus (7 x $9.75 million)

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Weitz

“He didn’t pick our team now we attack him personally”

Saying hockey players are relatively uneducated and rely on advisors and family isn’t exactly a hot take, nor is it an attack. It’s just an observation. JG did get his degree after 10 years though. It was obviously not in math. It was communications which is also kind of amusing if you’ve ever heard him in an interview.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by flylock shox

Sorry if I missed it - has Johnny given any media quotes or statements about leaving Calgary yet?




Edit: I see tvp2003's quotes from Johnny. Maybe I'm underestimating the city, but for me it's hard to imagine anyone being "super excited" about a weekend getaway to Columbus, much less 7 years there. But hey, different strokes I guess...

You know, now that I re-read the quote, he says he and his wife are super excited, not he and his family:

“It’s all outside noise to me,” Gaudreau said. “I’m super excited about where I’m at. I think it was a great decision for me and my wife and we’re just over the moon right now. Super excited.”

So while I’m sure his parents and siblings are thankful he’ll be closer to home than before, to me that reads as though this is Johnny and his wife making the decision for themselves, perhaps looking for a fresh start versus carrying on the legacy and all that would have come with staying in Calgary. And who knows if Guy Gaudreau — who surely knows the game of hockey and where Johnny would likely have the most success — agreed with Columbus versus Calgary or NJ?

[Barnet Flame]

I’ve just woken up.

Columbus?

Am I really awake?

WTactualF???

[Dion]

I may have to get the name plate removed from my Gaudreau jersey. The way he left and held the team hostage doesn't sit well with me. If you're not happy here, then say so. Don't lie to fans and say you want to be here.

Anyone know how to remove a signature and if rubbing alcohol would work?

[Mr.Coffee]

he's 'just so excited' and 'over the moon' to go play for the Blue Jackets?

This is the most bizarre UFA signing I think I have ever seen. This is like dart at a map kind of stuff.

[Boreal]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

I still to this day don't understand why a team can't continue to offer their player an 8 year deal once free agency has started.

The players don’t want it. It gives them leverage in negotiations & creates an actual deadline to negotiate.

Teams would & have signed them to unimaginably ridiculous terms when it was permitted.

[flylock shox]

Ugh... looking around YouTube for analysis of today's events and ended up watching Gaudreau highlights.

They hurt my soul.

I am going to miss watching this guy play hockey in red.

[memphusk]

Originally Posted by Dion

I may have to get the name plate removed from my Gaudreau jersey. The way he left and held the team hostage doesn't sit well with me. If you're not happy here, then say so. Don't lie to fans and say you want to be here.

Anyone know how to remove a signature and if rubbing alcohol would work?

Or just keep it and buy a different sweater.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Boreal

The players don’t want it. It gives them leverage in negotiations & creates an actual deadline to negotiate.

Teams would & have signed them to unimaginably ridiculous terms when it was permitted.

The players also wanted those unimaginably ridiculous terms, or they wouldn't have signed those deals. But the NHL and NHLPA had to put a limit on contract lengths, because they needed to be more specific in their legal language than just ‘no circumvention’.

[GioforPM]

He’ll have Laine, but who is his centre? Roslovic? That’s a huge step down in linemates from Lindy and Tkachuk.

[powderjunkie]

Do I really need to post a map of North America for you people?


11 months ago Johnny was probably looking at $64-68M over 8 years to stay in CGY.

He played well and the team played well - I'm sure he worked really hard and also had good luck that lots of things clicked.

Today he signed for $68.25M over 7 years. And moved nearly 2000 miles closer to home. That's 83% closer in absolute distance...probably even closer in most (but not all) practical terms.

He turned down $84 over 8 to test the market. I'm sure he hoped to do better than this...I'm sure he also knew this low was a possibility - though he probably didn't expect it.

It's not ideal compared to his hopes/expectations 1 day ago. But it's a massive improvement over his reality 11 months ago. I doubt he'll lose much sleep over this.


On the hockey side he has probably downgraded his playoff chances for the next 2-3 years from slight to very slim. Beyond that I'd bet on CBJ>CGY. It's currently hard to imagine any of his rumoured suitors developing into true contenders, though I think teams like CBJ/NJD/NYI only need a lot of luck to get there (CGY needs a metric tonne of luck IMO).

Originally Posted by Locke

Did anyone see Gaudreau going to Columbus?

I won't say I predicted it, but I certainly said CBJ were an intriguing dark horse.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

He’ll have Laine, but who is his centre? Roslovic? That’s a huge step down in linemates from Lindy and Tkachuk.

Long term Cole Sillinger or Kent Johnson.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I don't know who Todd Cordell is, but he said the deal in Jersey was north of $10 million per.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1547375449189322754

According to Portzline, the deal with CBJ isn’t even front-loaded. $9.75M a year for 7 years, same as the AAV:

But in a move that stunned hockey fans everywhere — especially those in central Ohio — Gaudreau, 28, chose the Blue Jackets to spend the prime of his career, signing a seven-year, $68.25 million contract with Columbus on Wednesday. The deal will pay Gaudreau $9.75 million each season, which is also the cap hit. Gaudreau also has a no-move clause for the first four years, then a limited no-trade clause in the final three years.

Here is the link, but there’s a paywall: https://theathletic.com/3422168/2022...kets-contract/

[Dion]

Originally Posted by memphusk

Or just keep it and buy a different sweater.

The jersey has a number of signatures from other players such as Lanny McDonald. I like wearing it and will probably get a new name plate of the next player that wears it, should the Flames go in that direction.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Long term Cole Sillinger or Kent Johnson.

Long term Gaudreau will be old before they are in their prime. Both 19. When they are 25 Gaudreau will be 35. He may be useful then but not a top guy.

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

I’ve just woken up.

Columbus?

Am I really awake?

WTactualF???

Lol I was just thinking earlier, oh man.

All the overseas Flames fans will have to wake up, open their phones and see Gaudreau to CBJ, slap themselves to make sure it's not a dream, and go WTF.

[Baxter Renegade]

This is clearly a deep seated issue with the Flames. You dont leave 15 mil on the table without heavy issues... Sincere asset management at stake. Hang Tre. Cheers!

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by dino7c

I look forward to the day this isn't the prize deal of free agency and is a boat anchor of a contract

we will all feel better about how it went down at that point

Well, lots of people should go back to the other thread and feel great shame for screaming "8x11M just do it!" "8x12! Whatever it takes!!!"

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Long term Gaudreau will be old before they are in their prime. Both 19. When they are 25 Gaudreau will be 35. He may be useful then but not a top guy.

Sillinger could be there sooner than later.

He had 2 more years of Lindholm at his number, and ?? more years of Tkachuk.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Do I really need to post a map of North America for you people?

If you're trying to prove that Columbus is within easy commuting distance of the Gaudreau family home in New Jersey, you can save yourself the trouble. It isn't. He tried and failed to get the contract he wanted from a team in the specific area where he wanted to live, and now he has to live several hundred miles from there. For a man who said he wanted to be close to his family, that's a major fail.

Some years back, when my parents were old and ailing, I stayed in Calgary to be near them despite opportunities to go elsewhere. If someone had offered me a job in Vancouver, I wouldn't have justified taking it on the grounds that it was closer to home than New York. From Vancouver to Calgary is the same distance as from Columbus to southern New Jersey.

‘Close to home’ may be a relative term to some degree, but once you have to catch a plane to make the trip in less than a day, you are no longer close by any reasonable standard.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

he's 'just so excited' and 'over the moon' to go play for the Blue Jackets?

He sounds exactly like someone who didn't have things work out the way he hoped so he's trying to kiss ass to the team he settled on.