On top of that, in the words of general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, Gaudreau's signing wasn't simply the case of a player with no other options.
...
"He told us this was one of his true primary destinations," Kekalainen said Wednesday evening. "We were like, 'OK, wow, is this real?' Once we realized that yeah, he wants to come here, we got into serious talks. We obviously let him know that he was one of the players that we desired the most, and when it got real serious to where he was like, 'OK, I want to come there,' then we got it through the finish line pretty quickly."
Doesn't sound at all like it was a snap decision, sounds like Gaudreau himself reached out to the Columbus team and let them know it was one of his true primary destinations. Why he couldn't tell Tre or the Flames org this so they could properly asset management is pure selfishness.
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Doesn't sound at all like it was a snap decision, sounds like Gaudreau himself reached out to the Columbus team and let them know it was one of his true primary destinations.
I'm a bit suspicious of that story when the source is BlueJackets.com.
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Man the quotes in that Athletic article sure make it seem like Johnny had been planning to leave for a while. Really disappointed he didn’t inform the team at least before the draft. Didn’t even seem to be a bargaining ploy seeing as how he took significantly less.
Johnny the liar….that little guy sure can make up ####
Anyway, it’s obvious he hated playing in Calgary. That’s why we rarely won anything except on his contract year so he can make a quick exit
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Monumentally stupid decision by Gaudreau. I mentioned before I think he took the Flames as far as he could so I’m not that upset he is gone, but to walk away from 15 million dollars is just a mind numbingly bad decision. There are so many conflicting reports out about how early he had decided to leave the Flames, regardless he is going to have 15 million dollars less to play with when he is retired at 35.
I never liked the player, and I always could tell it was all about Johnny when he trade-marked Johnny hockey he floated a lot during his career and shut down in games when it became physical, he put up 2 superb seasons I will give him that but he is not the type of player you try and build a championship with as well. He had 0 intentions of staying as a Flame, he could have done the decent thing and told the management he was not re-signing but he did the selfish thing and knew he could inflate his points and value by playing with Lindholm and Tkachuk all season, he then waited till the very last minute and screwed the Flames out of any value for him. My final thoughts see ya later arse
I'm still laughing at this. I was bitter when he informed the team that he'd leave, but it's still absolutely hilarious to me that the biggest UFA in many, many years chooses to leave more than 15 million dollars on the table in order to join a much worse team and go to Columbus of all places. It's just so bizarre that I can't even feel bitter about it anymore, and for some reason, it stings a lot less than if he had indeed gone home. Maybe he just wants pressure free hockey in a small US market, and in that case, good riddance actually.
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Doesn't sound at all like it was a snap decision, sounds like Gaudreau himself reached out to the Columbus team and let them know it was one of his true primary destinations. Why he couldn't tell Tre or the Flames org this so they could properly asset management is pure selfishness.
Quote:
"He told us this was one of his true primary destinations," Kekalainen said Wednesday evening. "We were like, 'OK, wow, is this real?'
I just found this comment hilarious. How do you know your team isn't a prime player destination when your GM is stunned that a free agent had you pencilled in as a destination of choice?
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I totally got him wanting to go to Philly or Jersey. I was defending the little weasel.
But to leave us high and dry to go to Columbus?
For less money?
On a lesser team?
What a slap in the face.
Could have been one of the greatest Flames of all time.
It’s so… pathetic. It straight up erased all hostility I had about this whole ordeal. Have fun Gaudreau, glad your gone. Which isn’t something I thought I’d want, but wow. We’re gonna be better for this overall.
Yeah yeah he wants to have a family. That’s great. So do lots of NHL’rs who also grab the legacy bull by the horns and make a name for themselves that lasts lifetimes.
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I just found this comment hilarious. How do you know your team isn't a prime player destination when your GM is stunned that a free agent had you pencilled in as a destination of choice?
Imagine the shock in Calgary's front office if a player contacted them and said Calgary was a place they wanted to play. It is a pretty funny and brutally honest comment though.
Not sure why people are so upset. It sounds like Columbus for whatever reason was one of his primary destinations. As crazy as it sounds to us and everyone else, it only has to make sense for Johnny and his family to be a good decision for them.
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Not sure why people are so upset. It sounds like Columbus for whatever reason was one of his primary destinations. As crazy as it sounds to us and everyone else, it only has to make sense for Johnny and his family to be a good decision for them.
Confirmation of how little winning mattered and how much time and effort was put into building a championship team around him.
It’s not anger. It’s surprise, and surprising relief.
