It was trending on twitter this morning with lots of people talking about it. I don't think I'm surprised honestly cause the way he played this year it certainly seemed like he wasn't happy. But that could be a lot of things though.
What he should have done the first game against Muzzin, even though Muzzin was wearing a protective shield, is to crosscheck him right across it and settle that once and for all. That whole puck flip at the time seemed like nothing but it was a major phycological move by Jake Muzzin!
I'm also not sure about paying Matthew Tkachuk $9M per on a long term contract. I like him and still think there's a lot of potential there but if he doesn't want to be here and he still has to show a lot in my opinion that he can be the leader and captain at that salary.
Matthew Tkachuk does have quite good stats in his 5 seasons so far with the Flames, he is a good player so maybe the $9m is not really that far off as far as the league goes.
Last edited by Macman; 06-22-2021 at 06:38 PM.
Reason: Stats
Tkachuk seemed off this season, if true he must have been really mad about the puck flip incident; Either the players, coaches didn't have his back, not to mention players from other teams. Just really surprising he never seemed to snap out of it. The other side of the coin is that maybe some players have had issues with having to defend him, creating a deep fracture on the team. Tkachuk seemed distant and at times not as engaged.
Just my take, I am not sure of Ward's position on the "flip" incident but I think there are some coaches out there who might have had the presence of mind to have Tkachuk's back and used this as fuel to get the team to respond with some direction and energy. Whoever was not for the Tkachuk incident certainly didn't step up and take a leadership role. There was no leadership... The team played like crap and disconnected for the most part except for about 3 players.
The last few seasons of having inexperienced coaches has been frustrating, but lots of blame to go around. I hope the Flames don't set the bar low on trading Tkachuk and demand a kings ransom for a high quality return. We need a first, a star player and, or some very good pieces. I hope the Flames do what Buffalo did, set the bar high and outline what it will take to acquire Tkachuk. If he came out and said he wants to stay, he can be a very good player.
Last edited by DazzlinDino; 06-22-2021 at 06:43 PM.
The Following User Says Thank You to DazzlinDino For This Useful Post:
I know many are quite down on Tkachuk after this past season. I also thought he had a pretty bad year by his standards. However, bad seasons happen and personally, I'd be a bit concerned about doing anything drastic (like trading him) after one bad season. We'll never know how COVID impacted him and while every player lived it, not every player had the same experience.
I still want Tkachuk to be the next captain here and believe he is the kind of player that every team wants. Really, really hope the rumours are untrue.
Maybe I’m being a homer but I have a funny feeling that at one point Tkachuk said he’d love to play for St. Louis at some point in his career.
This likely got twisted into “Tkachuk wants out of Calgary” through the rumour mill. I’m not saying SOB was lying when he said he heard it from players he knows. I just question that what they players SOB talked to said was credible or not.
You could get a better return from any team, why would anyone think Tarasenko for Tkachuk could work?
Maybe if Tarasenko was 7 years younger and didn't have 3 shoulder surgeries. He's missed close to 100 games and only scored 7 goals in the last 2 seasons
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Wood For This Useful Post:
Apparently SOB is a SN650 analyst so he should come on 960 and address these rumors (he won’t and 960 likely wouldn’t want to piss the Flames off with it anyway)
This rumour that Shane O Brien has started ( high probability it’s untrue) is being picked up by every hockey writer and publication. At the very least Shane just got his 5 minutes of fame as a hockey insider. Lol
