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

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Gaudreau was a win because he was picked at a point where a team is just happy if they get a full time NHL player out of it. Fox was also a great pick in the 3rd round because he was worth two 2nd round picks that the Hurricanes got for him. However if we are talking 1st round and it's between a Canadian and US born player taking the college route if they are very close I think you have to go with the Canadian player.

Or a Swede. Always pick the Swede.

[ricardodw]

Originally Posted by manwiches

I'm not quite I agree with this take. I get where you're coming from, but even Burke said when he was here, that philanthropy and community were central pillars to being a Flame, recognized or not.

Many don't need the spotlight or the pat on the back when giving back.

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It was not about giving back. It is about what did the Flames do to make Johnny happy. What was lacking in his life as a Flame that a few testimonials from Columbus players were enough to make him leave.

what did the Columbus organization do to make him feel special and comfortable?

Maybe it was the Flames coaching, negotiating, overall handling of players or a sour dressing room. But there was something that the Flames did not do that Johnny feels he will get in Columbus.


I would like to hear from Conroy on why he thought Gaudreau left so easily.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

It was not about giving back. It is about what did the Flames do to make Johnny happy. What was lacking in his life as a Flame that a few testimonials from Columbus players were enough to make him leave.

what did the Columbus organization do to make him feel special and comfortable?

Maybe it was the Flames coaching, negotiating, overall handling of players or a sour dressing room. But there was something that the Flames did not do that Johnny feels he will get in Columbus.


I would like to hear from Conroy on why he thought Gaudreau left so easily.

Longitude mostly. And a bit of latitude.


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[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

It was not about giving back. It is about what did the Flames do to make Johnny happy. What was lacking in his life as a Flame that a few testimonials from Columbus players were enough to make him leave.

what did the Columbus organization do to make him feel special and comfortable?

Maybe it was the Flames coaching, negotiating, overall handling of players or a sour dressing room. But there was something that the Flames did not do that Johnny feels he will get in Columbus.


I would like to hear from Conroy on why he thought Gaudreau left so easily.

Maybe it was Calgary Puck that drove him out of town or just the crazy fans that we can be. One year his a god in this town then the next we will never win with a guy like Gaudreau. Too soft, parties too much, doesn't eat vegetables and so on. I bet not many people in Columbus are worried about his diet.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by Macman

We had Brian Burke here while Gaudreau was here and he’s a big proponent of all the charity and community works.

Interesting that you mention Burke — I’m currently reading his book (Burke’s Law). Great book, lots of Flames content including the Phaneuf trade (and his negotiation with Sutter who was GM at the time), and of course his days in Calgary (with some interesting thoughts on Feaster and Treliving).

Anyways, this passage jumped out at me:

Originally Posted by djsFlames

I don't know how you can't be converted by the rockies.

The east is boring as #### compared to here.

Another excerpt from Burke’s Law about Calgary:

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

To me this is the way to handle. It is a risk and should be considered relative to the incremental upside of that player over who you would take instead.
But as you get into the mid and later rounds the risk is managed already by virtue of the fact the player already has an extremely low probability of being an NHLer and even lower to be a star. So in those rounds - I would factor it in a lot less.

But in the first if you have two guys that are pretty close to a coin flip, it can be a tie breaker for sure.

Yep, agree with this. Cliff definitely has a point with high draft picks and slightly biasing towards where they're from. As someone pointed out this is already happening with Russian prospects, so as America starts to produce more and more prospects it's not exactly crazy for Canadian teams to start to look at a Canadian vs American that are one or two draft predicted spot apart and say "long term, we statistically have a better shot at keeping the Canadian and we are expecting this player to be a star".

But as Jiri stated - Gaudreau and Fox are not really examples of this. Gaudreau especially is in "found money" territory and we found money and used that money for a decade. You do not pick a Canadian over an American in the 4th round if the American is the player you believe could make the NHL. No way.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

I don't know how you can't be converted by the rockies.

The east is boring as #### compared to here.

Nah. These are young, celebrity millionaires. The Canadian Rockies are amazing, and could possibly motivate a lesser player to choose Calgary over Edmonton or Winnipeg, but you're underestimating the life these guys live.

They're fun is grabbing flights to major American cities on three days off for high life short trips full of top end nightclubs, concerts and restaurants. Their bigger vacations with more time allotted are the best hotels and resorts in the most tropical, fun hotspots in the world with everything at their finger tips.

They're living a different life. This isn't Jim and Shelley taking the kids to Canmore to stare up at the mountains in wonder. They'll head up there, don't get me wrong, but it's not keeping them here over the busy, exciting American life that caters to the rich and crushes the poor.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

It was not about giving back. It is about what did the Flames do to make Johnny happy. What was lacking in his life as a Flame that a few testimonials from Columbus players were enough to make him leave.

what did the Columbus organization do to make him feel special and comfortable?

Maybe it was the Flames coaching, negotiating, overall handling of players or a sour dressing room. But there was something that the Flames did not do that Johnny feels he will get in Columbus.


I would like to hear from Conroy on why he thought Gaudreau left so easily.

Man, I had to re-type as I made three separate crass comments due to your lack of understanding of the situation. Do you not have a family? Have you not been following literally anything reported in the last week?

This is absurd and I really shouldn't even respond, but here we are.

(the triple post score! to get reported to the mods as per usual haha )

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

It was not about giving back. It is about what did the Flames do to make Johnny happy. What was lacking in his life as a Flame that a few testimonials from Columbus players were enough to make him leave.

what did the Columbus organization do to make him feel special and comfortable?

Maybe it was the Flames coaching, negotiating, overall handling of players or a sour dressing room. But there was something that the Flames did not do that Johnny feels he will get in Columbus.


I would like to hear from Conroy on why he thought Gaudreau left so easily.

It’s clear he simply wanted to be in the US.

After he made that decision, Columbus offered him the most money.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

It’s clear he simply wanted to be in the US.

After he made that decision, Columbus offered him the most money.

Listening to Flames Talk it really doesn't sound like that was the case. It sounds like his circle of family was divided actually. I am imagining the Gaudreau's thought he should stay, his wife and her family wanted him to come East. I think he was conflicted, everything I have heard sounds like he wanted to stay and was negotiating a deal until he suddenly backed out. In the end he made the choice that would keep his new family happy. Also, NJ offered him more money and was closer to his family. From what I understand though his wife has family in Columbus. I obviously don't know the facts but I can connect the dots as I see them. Even more interesting is Steinberg and Francis both say there is much more that could come out but they are not going to be the ones who spill the beans on that.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Listening to Flames Talk it really doesn't sound like that was the case. It sounds like his circle of family was divided actually. I am imagining the Gaudreau's thought he should stay, his wife and her family wanted him to come East. I think he was conflicted, everything I have heard sounds like he wanted to stay and was negotiating a deal until he suddenly backed out. In the end he made the choice that would keep his new family happy. Also, NJ offered him more money and was closer to his family. From what I understand though his wife has family in Columbus. I obviously don't know the facts but I can connect the dots as I see them. Even more interesting is Steinberg and Francis both say there is much more that could come out but they are not going to be the ones who spill the beans on that.

Well, sure, he was undecided but at the end of the day he (and his family) decided to go to the US. It wasn’t a choice between Calgary and Columbus at that point, just Calgary or not Calgary. That’s my point.

NJ reportedly offered him slightly less money.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Was just chatting with a pal of mine who retired from the NHL in 2009.

He blames much of this on Covid, the current gong show that is travel to the US and back, and the risk that the Canadian government will re-impose travel restrictions in the event of a Covid resurgence.

He would have preferred that JG say this publicly and that it’s a huge issue for families in his situation.

This would fit with him saying that they decided it was best not to go back to Calgary and then chose among locations nearer his home.

[FlamesAddiction]

I mentioned it the day of the signing that I wouldn't be surprised if COVID restrictions played a role in his decision. His family loves to travel to see him, so it may have been more of a factor than some other players. If that were the case, he should mention that. It would have softened the blow a little.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Well, sure, he was undecided but at the end of the day he (and his family) decided to go to the US. It wasn’t a choice between Calgary and Columbus at that point, just Calgary or not Calgary. That’s my point.

NJ reportedly offered him slightly less money.

Oh ok, I thought the Devil's offered more. Ya, he is gone so it doesn't really matter how it went down. We can all speculate but he chose the States, fair enough.

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

It was not about giving back. It is about what did the Flames do to make Johnny happy. What was lacking in his life as a Flame that a few testimonials from Columbus players were enough to make him leave.

what did the Columbus organization do to make him feel special and comfortable?

Maybe it was the Flames coaching, negotiating, overall handling of players or a sour dressing room. But there was something that the Flames did not do that Johnny feels he will get in Columbus.


I would like to hear from Conroy on why he thought Gaudreau left so easily.

Why are you worried about these things? Don't you have better things to do; Or do you really do care about the Calgary Flames or is it Johnny?

[Inferno099]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Was just chatting with a pal of mine who retired from the NHL in 2009.

He blames much of this on Covid, the current gong show that is travel to the US and back, and the risk that the Canadian government will re-impose travel restrictions in the event of a Covid resurgence.

He would have preferred that JG say this publicly and that it’s a huge issue for families in his situation.

The pandemic restrictions and borders likely had a part in the decision.

If this is true JG should mention this along with others.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

NJ reportedly offered him slightly less money.

I thought I heard something about less trade protection/NMC with NJD, too.

I'm not sure anybody really dialed in the NJD AAV; Friedman seemed pretty certain it was under 10 though.

[Sandman]

When news broke about Johnny signing with CBJ, Johnny's uncle Jim was on Tweeting out to Flames fans, thanking them for their support of his nephew. (Jim is pretty connected to Flames fans on social media). One fan messaged him the following:

"Help Flames fans understand why he'd sign with a crappy team, and leave $15 million on the table? He's still not close to Jersey, either. He got some really bad advice from his agent/inner circle apparently as there's no tangible reason to justify what happened today."

Uncle Jim's response:

"Help the very same people who in prior breaths tore him apart for the last 8 years? Too small? Doesn't show up in playoffs? Isn't worth his contract???

I'll pass.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts though."

Uncle Jim gave it away. Johnny wants it easy. He doesn't want to perform in front of an audience that actually cares.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Sandman

When news broke about Johnny signing with CBJ, Johnny's uncle Jim was on Tweeting out to Flames fans, thanking them for their support of his nephew. (Jim is pretty connected to Flames fans on social media). One fan messaged him the following:

"Help Flames fans understand why he'd sign with a crappy team, and leave $15 million on the table? He's still not close to Jersey, either. He got some really bad advice from his agent/inner circle apparently as there's no tangible reason to justify what happened today."

Uncle Jim's response:

"Help the very same people who in prior breaths tore him apart for the last 8 years? Too small? Doesn't show up in playoffs? Isn't worth his contract???

I'll pass.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts though."

Uncle Jim gave it away. Johnny wants it easy. He doesn't want to perform in front of an audience that actually cares.

I’ve always found it odd to group everyone together like this. It’s so annoying when people do it. “Well the same fans didn’t like him last year!” Uhhh I bet there were thousands of adoring Gaudreau fans who would back him up in any debate from draft day to last week. And some even still. Fan bases aren’t one mind.

[Manhattanboy]

Terrible response from Uncle Jim. Someone suggested it was directed at Francis but I’m not sure.