Seravalli: Gaudreau has informed the Flames he will not return

[Duffalufagus]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

Honestly, I can appreciate some poster’s optimism, but I’d be very surprised if the Flames were a playoff team next season.

Here are Johnny’s 21-22 season splits (wins and losses).


In Wins:
50gm - 32g - 61a - 93p

In Losses:
21gm - 5g - 8a - 13p

In OTL:
11gm - 3g - 6a - 9p


Just look at how reliant this team was on Johnny’s line just to win games. There’s an extremely high correlation between Johnny’s production and the competitiveness of this team. I’ve always remarked on this before, dating all the way back to 2017, but honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it quite a this level prior to this past season.

Yeah. This is right. They are negative goal differential without him on the ice. Sell Tkachuk. His value only goes down as we get into the season.

[Hackey]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

You need top-3 picks, and you need to be one of the best managed teams in the league.

You can do one without the other and you'll win nothing.

"Good teams don't win Stanley Cups because not all good teams win the Stanley Cup"

You need elite talent. The most probable way to find elite talent is high in the draft. But you also need to draft and develop well, make savvy trades, etc. But expecting to find elite talent multiple times outside the top 3 is extremely unlikely. Which is why drafting in the top 3-5 multiple times is almost a neccesity.

Washington found Ovechkin and Backstrom early in the draft and found Kuznetsov and Carlson late in the draft.

Tampa found Stamkos and Hedman early in the draft and found Point and Kucherov late in the draft.

Pittsburgh found Crosby and Malkin early in the draft and Letang and Guentzel late in the draft.

Kane and Toews early...Keith, Seakbrook late

Mckinnon, Landeskog, and Makar early...Rantanen late

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Bunk

Ok, fine, but could either of those teams have won if their best player walked prior?

You're moving the goalposts. The question is whether those teams could win without a top-3 draft pick, and clearly they did.

The thing people are arguing is that it would be next to impossible to build your way to a championship team post best player walking.

No, they are arguing that you need to do a complete tank and rely on winning the draft lottery.

They gave it their shot to try to be Boston or St Louis, didn’t happen with their best core player. With him gone, it is just a fool’s errand to try to be that long shot that might somehow do it against all odds.

It's an even bigger fool's errand to just twiddle your thumbs and resign yourself to losing until the lottery balls happen to fall your way.

Our better odds are leveraging assets, building back through the draft and prospects attained.

Which has nothing to do with magically picking in the top 3.

[Manhattanboy]

Still in shock. Finding this hard to digest.

[rhino]

Originally Posted by DomeFoam

If the owners are concerned about profits, well I wonder how much Johnny has lined them over the last 8 years. He's gone now, and I can't think of a single player who's gonna put people in those seats anymore with the current roster. It may actually be in their best interests to embrace a rebuild and draft players worth watching again.

The only player I bought a ticket to see was Gretz in his last game at the dome. Otherwise I buy my ticket to watch the team play.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Yeah, I guess you're right. Having the best players is irrelevant to winning Stanley Cups. You sure got me there, you appear to be good at that.

Yeah, I guess you're right. All the best players in the game were drafted in the top 3 in their respective years. You sure got me there.

Now, as for your claim: If having the best players wins you Stanley Cups, can you show me McDavid's championship rings?

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Is it confirmed there was an offer for Tkachuk for the number 2 overall pick?

No. It is the flimsiest of rumours based on a handful of unconnected ambiguous Tweets.

Sent from my SM-G986W using Tapatalk

[troutman]

Smoke up Johnny!

[Icon]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Still in shock. Finding this hard to digest.

Just tack it onto the list of disappointment and it feels better, list is long and there'll be more

Probably the booze talking at this point, whatever

[browna]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

No. It is the flimsiest of rumours based on a handful of unconnected ambiguous Tweets.

Sent from my SM-G986W using Tapatalk

I don't think Eklund even had it on the board. But if people keep repeating the same baseless rumor, it must be true.

[Weitz]

As an outsider:

The only reason to resign with Calgary would be money. The team isn’t built to win even with another year with the coach and Johnny at huge money. The next big signature is another winger not a center to run a line.

Yes I expect to lose both players of my team in the next while.

[Yoho]

It’s crazy a 4th round pick hurts this much but all of other first rounder picks have become very little impact players.

[flylock shox]

I'm surprised we don't have a "Thank you, Johnny" thread up yet.



Hopefully some stoic soul is busy working away on one, populated with lots of AC highlight packages of our former star player. Most entertaining player the Flames have had since Fleury, IMO. We were lucky to have had him, and to have been able to watch his career since he was in Boston. Such a fun - if incomplete - journey.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Hackey

But expecting to find elite talent multiple times outside the top 3 is extremely unlikely. Which is why drafting in the top 3-5 multiple times is almost a neccesity.

Sorry, the argument was top 3 only.

The only way to guarantee yourself a top-3 pick is to finish dead last – and there are always multiple teams competing for that spot. That's why scorched-earth rebuilds seldom pay off, and when they do, it takes 5 to 10 years to happen. You have to be so bad to get those picks that it takes years of climbing just to get back to mediocrity.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

Yeah, I guess you're right. All the best players in the game were drafted in the top 3 in their respective years. You sure got me there.

Now, as for your claim: If having the best players wins you Stanley Cups, can you show me McDavid's championship rings?

You keep coming back to thinking I'm making a statement about any sort of guarantee, I'm not.

You need those foundational high-end picks and then you need to be one of if not the best managed teams in hockey. That's it. That's all. Simple, no?

You have to make those top picks (in the right year)...and then your management team needs to go on a heater and bring everything together.

[Muta]

Looks like Chuck Berry was right along, Johnny did go

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Muta

We're going to definitely need to start looking closer at building a team of players that are interested in being here for the long term; ones that see a vision for success, see the value in building a team as a whole (the Crosby discount), and have roots in this area if possible (similar to what happened today). Above all, we need a respected and revered organization that puts 100% into what the team, the players and the fan experience.

Then can we get to a point where star players are leaving American and eastern teams to 'come home' to play here. Even as a small market, I don't think it's impossible with the right vision and commitment to a plan.

Calgary will never be a place where star players want to play, at least ones that don't have a personal connection to the province. Small prairie city with crap weather, non-existent night life (compared to bigger markets), high taxes, and terrible provincial government. The only way the Flames can be competitive is with good drafting and cycling through players before they hit UFA status

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by Icon

Part of me is glad there isn't an expected over-reaction, part of me is worried about an under-reaction.



Just do something, shake up the roster, go into a rebuild, whatever. Don't just start next season with the same forward core minus Gaudreau plus random plugs.

That would concern me though - if he felt he needed to just do something. If a player or trade makes sense by all means. But please don't just do something because of what happened with Johnny. And based on what was said, he won't.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by flylock shox

I'm surprised we don't have a "Thank you, Johnny" thread up yet.



Hopefully some stoic soul is busy working away on one, populated with lots of AC highlight packages of our former star player. Most entertaining player the Flames have had since Fleury, IMO. We were lucky to have had him, and to have been able to watch his career since he was in Boston. Such a fun - if incomplete - journey.

Don't think that should go up for a while.

Fans need time to process.

I think he owes Flames fans and organization a public thank you first and it should be the first thing he addresses the media with when he is signed.

[Roof-Daddy]

Yeah, after mulling this over I say blow this thing up and let's get in on the Bedard lottery if we can.

The Flames have a lot of good players still and will easily be able to sell many of them for high end prospects and picks IMO.

Let's try building the team properly this time, down the middle and on the back end.

Dig up a franchise C and franchise D to build around.