[News] As expected Kraken select Giordano from the Flames

[looooob]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I strongly believe that Gio's number should go to the rafters and not as a lame "Forever a Flame" thing. Give the man his full due.

But this isn't a bad outcome. A bad outcome would have been giving into Seattle's demands.

My hopes in orders were
1. Gio stays with a small price paid to Seattle (e.g. a third) - but this became very unlikely clearly
2. Gio goes and the cap room is created
3. Worst outcome: The Flames give up a big price to keep him.

So this is probably the best of the realistic scenarios.

Gio's story in Calgary may not be finished yet (even if not this year) but yes let's recognize this man's legacy
1. from undrafted player to 2nd in franchise Games played
2. 6th in Franchise points, 5th in assists
3. one of 3 D (all home grown) in franchise history with 500 points
4. 10th in all time plus minus - this may seem meh at first- but the 9 ahead of him (and the guy right behind him) were all on the cup team- he did it more or less on his own (yes plus minus is flawed but with Gio it paints a picture)

[Skyceman]

Kraken suck! I hope we torch them every game.

[JBR]

Now the question... does Gio suit up for Seattle or do they flip him.. and we watch him return as a member of the (insert team here.. Leafs?)

[Southside]

Spend that cap space wisely. Don't make this a total loss.

[Voodooman]

While I’m sad to see the end of the Gio era, I’m excited about the cap space and the opportunities that come with it. While I’m sure Tre will be “right there until the end” on Landeskog, hopefully we can find a Top 6 RW somewhere…

[ComixZone]

I am sad.

Hope he does well in Seattle, and I hope they do in fact name him as their first Captain. It would be the perfect way for him to spend his last few seasons in the league.

Hell of a player.

[nik-]

Great Flame.

Hopefully this will shake the cobwebs of delusion from this organization's eyes.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by troutman

They pick Gio, but not Price.

They didn't want to pay the Price.

[Muta]

Tough to see him go, but I hope it's a thrill for him. Seattle is a great city and hopefully the change of scenery ignites a sense of refreshed excitement for him (just not against the Flames!).

[Geeoff]

I hope Seattle one ups Vegas and Giordano lifts the cup for them!

[Enoch Root]

Sad, but from a cold business perspective, it isn't bad for the Flames.

Gio was one of the best Flames we've had. A great player, a great person, and a Norris Trophy winner. Thanks for everything, Gio.

Going forward however, he was not going to be able to provide good value for his contract this year. To be clear, I was strongly in favour of his contract, and he has MORE than lived up to it, but the simple fact of the matter is that, at 38, this year was going to be the under belly of the great value the team has gotten up to this point. Simply put, the cap space is more valuable, this year, than he can hope to be.

The other factor is the change to the core. In no way am I blaming Gio for the challenges that this core has faced. However, the fact is that removing him provides a big shake up to the room, the leadership and the core group of players. Again, not his fault, but I think the result will provide the impetus for change that is needed.

IMO, this doesn't hurt the Flames overall. And if the cap space is well used, it might actually be a net positive.

And then we can re-sign Gio next year!

[Joborule]

Good to see the Flames didn't sacrifice assets to keep him. He's an all time Flames great, but gotta make the right business move.

The free cap space now helps the Flames up a fair amount to shore up the offense.

[Cole436]

The Iginla era Flames are finally over. Devastating day for my childhood.

[MegaErtz]

949 regular season games for him with the Flames, so a tip of the hat. That said, he was here for one single playoff series win. We want winners on our team, and winners win more than one playoff series in a career.

[mdubz]

Time for our young D to step it up!

[Nelson]

I have conflicting emotions. I’m sad to see Gio go because of the memories and because the Flames are now worse. I’m happy that the Flames didn’t pay a heavy price to keep Gio and for the cap space. If the Flames spend the money wisely, they could actually improve in the end.

[agulati]

Definitely a sad day. Thanks for the memories Gio! Would love to have you back as a free agent next summer.

[Sec214]

I Love Gio, Will Always Love Gio - But the time is right, the ship needs a change at the helm and we need to get some jam in this core.

[looooob]

Originally Posted by Cole436

The Iginla era Flames are finally over. Devastating day for my childhood.

if it makes you feel better I suppose Backlund did play multiple seasons with Iginla (as a borderline/emerging/support) player

[Monahammer]

Thank you Mark Giordano!