Thank you Matthew

[PaperBagger'14]

To those that are confused about why Gaudreau is being dumped on while Tkachuk is being lauded, Gaudreau was a petulant child who couldn't make a decision, Tkachuk did. That childish quality of not being able to make a timely decision burned the flames, and badly.

Tkachuk was honest, forthright and decisive. I wouldn't use a single one of those words to describe Gaudreau.

[Tabaracci_31]

Thanks for everything, Chucky. You’re a heckuva hockey player! We were so lucky to have you on our team. All the best in FLA!

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

To those that are confused about why Gaudreau is being dumped on while Tkachuk is being lauded, Gaudreau was a petulant child who couldn't make a decision, Tkachuk did.

Tkachuk was honest, forthright and decisive. I wouldn't use a single one of those words to describe Gaudreau.

…in bailing on the team we all cheer for as quickly as he could.

Funny what some people need to tell themselves to feel better.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

…in bailing on the team we all cheer for as quickly as he could.

Funny what some people need to tell themselves to feel better.

Correct, I'm a bigger fan of someone who left but was honest about it instead of someone who also left but wasn't honest or decisive. Crazy thought people care more about actions than words.

[Inglewood Jack]

Thank you Matthew for never wanting to be a Flame long term, and telling your GM who just happens to be very good at making trades

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

Correct, I'm a bigger fan of someone who left but was honest about it instead of someone who also left but wasn't honest or decisive. Crazy thought people care more about actions than words.

You don’t really care about actions more than words, though. Not if you look at the situations objectively.

Gaudreau signed here out of college when he didn’t have to. His signed a contract that took away UFA years when he didn’t have to. And regardless of the decision he ended up making, he considered staying when he didn’t have to.

Tkachuk signed the ELC he had to sign, and then the second best contract he could have signed in terms of getting him to UFA the fastest, and then refused to even consider signing long term (but didn’t “demand a trade” just made it clear he would sign long term with someone else, weird!)

You can make up stories about honesty or whatever (Tkachuk also said he loved it here and would be very open to staying long term, and then followed up by not even listening to long term offers… a lie?), but you can’t say you care more about actions than words when your entire complaint seems to come down to words one guy said lol. Actions favour Gaudreau.

I think both guys deserve a “thanks for your service, see ya never” at this point. And it’s fine if you want to make up 100 reasons why one was better than the other. But just know there’s no confusion, and spouting mindless platitudes about “honesty” and other armchair character diagnosis wouldn’t clear any confusion if there were.

[Macman]

Tkachuk possibly had the best year of his career here and it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to repeat that season, was good having him here but I’m certainly not feeling bad that he decided to leave.

I’m thankful though in that I wouldn’t have to swap out the A on the jersey I bought to a C which I thought would happen at some point.

Will be a very interesting year to watch Gaudreau and Tkachuk on different teams, different coaches and away from Lindholm and how he does.

[Njord]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

Tkachuk was honest, forthright and decisive. I wouldn't use a single one of those words to describe Gaudreau.

I wouldn't use those words to describe Tkachuk at all. He knew awhile ago he wasn't re-signing in Calgary. He didn't tell the team after the season was done, before the draft, before JG left in free agency, before he decided not to goto arbitration, and only said after the Flames elected to send him to arbitration that he was not re-signing with the Flames. He strung the Flames along for quite awhile aswell. At least he didn't wait till the 11th hour of 2023 free agency so we could get assets back. The word I would use for him is professional

[PaperBagger'14]

Jesus if you keep talking in pointless circles you might get dizzy there Pepsi, that would explain your last post.

You are looking at their history with the flames, their signings, their media quips, and honestly none of that junk matters anymore. They're gone, and complaining about what they said in media is bordering on angsty 12 year old "bUt He SaId!!!" fluff. What matters to me is that, with both of them leaving, Tkachuk gave the flames the chance to make the team better, Gaudreau didn't.

You can continue looking back at the fluff pieces they said to the media, ill be looking forward to the return for Tkachuk.

[Flamesfan05]

Matt was very clear on his intention.
He was also very professional about it

Besides the buffet in Florida is much better. Keith’d be much happier when he visits

[Strange Brew]

Sounds like Gaudreau was willing to extend last summer and Flames were good with him playing out his final contract year. The Flames organization shares some blame for the brinksmanship game. They’re the ones that decided to not move him.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Njord

I wouldn't use those words to describe Tkachuk at all. He knew awhile ago he wasn't re-signing in Calgary. He didn't tell the team after the season was done, before the draft, before JG left in free agency, before he decided not to goto arbitration, and only said after the Flames elected to send him to arbitration that he was not re-signing with the Flames. He strung the Flames along for quite awhile aswell. At least he didn't wait till the 11th hour of 2023 free agency so we could get assets back. The word I would use for him is professional

You have no idea when he told the team. Maybe he told them 3 years ago. You didn’t find out until last week.

[ben voyonsdonc]

One way to think about the Gaudreau vs Tkachuk handling is as contractors/employees. They are absolutely entitled to decide to do other work.

Contractor A (Gaudreau): You’ve done lots of work with them in the past and you are looking to get them to do your deck. You have a great personal relationship with them and they do great work and when you call them they say they would love to consider doing the deck. You then call them back and they don’t respond and eventually give you some wishy washy explanations about when they would decide about taking the job. Finally, the day before the job was supposed to start, they tell you that they can’t do the job because they wanted to take a job that was closer to home but were unsure how to tell you.

Contractor B (Tkachuk): you’ve worked with this contractor for a few years. They do great work but definitely charge a premium and are in demand. When you reach out to them to book work on your deck, they say “Send me the details of the job and I’ll let you know if I can do that work.” Several months before the work is supposed to start, they call you to say “You know what? I have another opportunity and am unavailable to do the work for you. Here is a list of possible options that hopefully can help you get this work done. If there is anything else I can do, please let me know.”

[Press Level]

Good luck in Florida Chucky! CGY-FLA Final will be epic!

[icarus]

Best wishes Matthew. Thanks for the memories.

Tkachuk, Bennett and Lomberg playing together on the same team again.

I'm glad the Flames don't have to face them often. Suck it, Tampa.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

…in bailing on the team we all cheer for as quickly as he could.

Funny what some people need to tell themselves to feel better.

His right, he’s not Canadian and there are a few people I know transferred here from the States who lasted less time before quitting or working a moving back.

Its kinda like many Canadians who wouldn’t move to the States because it scares them. Jock culture, mass shootings, political climate. However for a American its what they know, and frankly Canada lacks a lot of what the States can bring. Just look at how disgusted we were with how they handled COVID, and how crazy they thought we were. It probably factored into both guy’s decisions. Each his own.

I don’t like that he bailed either. He was a favorite of mine, but if I had to live in the States for work lets say, you know I’d be working a move back home even if it wasn’t Calgary.

Lets add unlike JG he didn’t sit out a day over contract issues, show up rusty to start the season, he didn’t jerk the Flames around at all. He also didn’t force a trade in the media. He played like a pro frankly.

I think rationally this is a whatever move for me. It sucks, but its what he wanted. I get it, but I am not appreciative nor angry with him. Just time to move on.

[devo22]

I wish him all the best. I have no qualms with the way he has handled this ... if you don't want to be here, then you don't have to be here. But at least be honest about it. Tkachuk was, and he gave the Flames options to get assets for him. So, no hard feelings here on my part. Hope it works out for him in Florida.

It also helps that I had my doubts that he's the kind of player you give 10m a season to be THE guy. I think selling high on him after the season he's had ultimately was the best choice for the Calgary Flames, therefore I'm super happy with how this has played out.

[Igottago]

Lol..the reason this wasnt a disaster was because Treliving and his management team just made a miracle trade, all the credit goes to them. Tkachuck did the Flames no favours. It seems like Gaudreau was at least emotionally conflicted about leaving but Matthew was happy to get out of Calgary all along, and had no problem pulling the plug on them after he saw his linemate leave.

Honestly I don't get it by either of them, and I think it may end up a cautionary tale to other high end players in this situation that the grass isn't always greener. I don't think either Columbus or Florida will be great for either of their careers and they had huge potential to be part of something special in Calgary.

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by PuckDemon

The Villain: 13 loved Calgary so much that he had trouble letting go and only decided to leave last minute because family convinced him.

The Hero: 19 negotiated his last contract to set him up for this day. Easy to tell them he wanted out because he was never really attached to Calgary.

What the eff is going on? Like, I can see how you could criticize Johnny for being less professional, but people act like he's a traitor. Johnny literally cared more about Calgary than Chucky did.

All the loved Calgary and wanted to stay stuff means squat at this point because either you stay or you don't... Johnny didn't. The Flames couldn't get assets in return for his departure, and the Gaudreaus held up the team's entire offseason operations up until their last minute decision.

Whether you want to admit it or not, Tkachuk's honesty and frankness allowed the Flames to maneuver accordingly and get a nice return in a trade.

Litigate fan reactions all you want, I'm just happy with the way everything shook out. Thank you Matthew and Johnny for all those great years as Flames, it was a joy to watch both of you, and all the best to you and your families!

[Roof-Daddy]

Screw him for wanting out and forcing his way out, but at least he did it in a way that Treliving was able to capitalize on.

But yeah, screw him.

The only thing I'm mad at Gaudreau about now is for being such an indecisive weenie.