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

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by dino7c

...It's been widely reported that the Flames met Gaudreau's contract demands...pretty hard to deny when he signed for less...

How does this make any sense?

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by dino7c

You trash Flames constantly until they leave and then become their biggest fans.

He is like your doppelgänger.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

There is no logic here.

10.5x8 was not on the table when he 'settled'. Clearly 10.5x8 in CGY did not meet his expectations...he declined and decided to hope for the best on the open market

9.75x7 probably didn't meet his expectations, either. But, he didn't really have an alternative this time.

Steinberg has eluded to this being the demand of the Gaudreau camp as negotiations intensified on the eve of free agency. The flames gave into all demands but Gaudreau then simply informed them he decided to leave.

It was also reported the Flames made a larger offer for 7 years during free agency but ultimately once Columbus got in the mix that is where he wanted to go

https://flamesnation.ca/2022/08/16/t...dreau-timeline

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Jiggy

Steinberg reported it a few times. LeBrun did as well from what I remember.

Originally Posted by dino7c

The quote is bad enough without me doing anything...I don't need to type out the whole thing everytime.

It's been widely reported that the Flames met Gaudreau's contract demands...pretty hard to deny when he signed for less.

Then it shouldn't be hard to find a tweet/article/podcast/etc. I've looked, to no avail.

Steinberg alluded to 'knowing a bit about what happened' (note, I'm paraphrasing here, hence my use of ' ' and not " ")...yet when the dust settled, here is exactly what he reported (not speculated/alluded to)

https://flamesnation.ca/2022/08/16/t...reau-timeline/

The day before 2022 free agency opened was perhaps the wildest day I’ve ever covered. It started with intel that Gaudreau’s camp had put a counteroffer on the table, either on Monday night or Tuesday morning. I’m not exactly certain what that counter looked like, but it came in higher than where the Flames were and set a ceiling for in intense day of negotiations.

Then the grind began. As Tuesday afternoon went along, Calgary and Gaudreau’s camp moved closer and closer to common ground. The Flames proved beyond a shadow of a doubt they were ready and eager to make Gaudreau one of the league’s highest paid players. And, even a day before free agency, Gaudreau was still fully undecided and the door remained open for a return to Calgary.

...

Well, here’s what I’ve been able to piece together over the last month. The Flames, and many around the league, believed Gaudreau was ready to sign an eight-year deal at $10.5 million annually. I’m not sure if there was a verbal agreement or not, but Calgary thought a new deal was going to happen.

So you guys can go ahead and cross Steinberg off your list of 'wide reports'. He doesn't disqualify the possibility that the myth is true; nor do I. I am ready and willing to supplicate for forgiveness if anyone can simply link a credible report that backs up the myth.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

The part that pisses me off, is that he and Tkahuck fold against the Flames' biggest rivals in the playoffs, then quit the team.

That's the part that actually makes me pretty happy given how all of this has turned out.

[dino7c]

The GM himself said one side negotiated in good faith and they thought they had a deal

Gaudreau knew he was leaving long before he told the Flames and used them as leverage...it's comical to even try to debate otherwise considering all that has come out. I get that people fall in love with players but it's pretty obvious what happened here.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

That's the part that actually makes me pretty happy given how all of this has turned out.

Agreed. They made the hard decisions for us, and we made out like bandits with the players who replaced them.

[dino7c]

This is true...is there anyone here that would prefer Tkachuk and Gaudreau 10.5x8 each vs. what we ended up with?

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by dino7c

This is true...is there anyone here that would prefer Tkachuk and Gaudreau 10.5x8 each vs. what we ended up with?

Absolutely not. We got better players who want to be here, and signed contracts to be here long term. Not sign contracts so they can plan their exit half way through the deal.

[heep223]

General public is even more butthurt than CP, in my opinion. Casual fans know that Gaudreau chose voluntarily to leave and to a completely random #### team that’s not even close to his hometown. IMO they don’t care about the nuance of it like CP does.

Johnny’s going to get absolutely roasted.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

It was reported by Lebrun, Steinberg and Eric Francis that he pulled out of the deal. Go back and watch the press conference with Treliving he guy looks a bit shocked and pissed off. He even said during that one of another one that one side negotiated in good faith that's pretty telling.

The team operated part of the off season with a cap hold of 11 million earmarked for him because he was deciding what he wanted to do even though he knew what he wanted to do when the process started. That's the part that pisses me off, not that he left.

No dispute that he pulled out (obviously). The extent to which a 'deal' actually existed is the question.

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

How does 10.5X8 not meet his expectation when it was HIS offer that we accepted.

He said he wants 10.5 we said yes, he said lol just kidding and landed in Columbus.

Citation needed.

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Steinberg has eluded to this being the demand of the Gaudreau camp as negotiations intensified on the eve of free agency. The flames gave into all demands but Gaudreau then simply informed them he decided to leave.

It was also reported the Flames made a larger offer for 7 years during free agency but ultimately once Columbus got in the mix that is where he wanted to go

https://flamesnation.ca/2022/08/16/t...dreau-timeline

Interesting that we can read the same article and reach different conclusions. I don't see how anyone gets to 'Flames gave into all demands' from that report. I acknowledge there are plausible scenarios where something very close to that may have occurred, but I also recognize that the path to life-changing decisions is rarely smooth/easy.

[dino7c]

The GM who is extremely professional measured when he speaks said one said negotiated in good faith

Really dude it's an odd hill for a Flames fan to die on... Gaudreau used the Flames as leverage and had no intention of signing. There is more than enough evidence out there.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by dino7c

The GM who is extremely professional measured when he speaks said one said negotiated in good faith

Really dude it's an odd hill for a Flames fan to die on... Gaudreau used the Flames as leverage and had no intention of signing. There is more than enough evidence out there.

I don't think it's fair to say we know why Johnny did what he did.
There is evidence that the Flames met his contract demands and then he backed out.
We can't say for sure why. We can speculate it was to use as leverage, but the deal he eventually signed doesn't support that.

I think it is simply that once the Flames met his demands, and he had to actually commit, he didn't want to. That's it. When it reached the moment to actually sign a deal, and give up the choice to move closer to home and all that, he simply didn't want to.

I do not think he was using the Flames as leverage.

[dino7c]

GM flat out said he did not negotiate in good faith

Just because nobody beat the Calgary offer doesn't mean they didn't use it as leverage for a ballpark. Teams weren't exactly lining up and free agency didn't go as him and his agent planned IMO

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by dino7c

GM flat out said he did not negotiate in good faith

Just because nobody beat the Calgary offer doesn't mean they didn't use it as leverage for a ballpark. Teams weren't exactly lining up and free agency didn't go as him and his agent planned IMO

Is this another one of those times where you take a quote out of context and twist it until it suits you?

[Jiri Hrdina]

But we don't know that.

"Gaudreau used the Flames as leverage and had no intention of signing. There is more than enough evidence out there."

I disagree. I think you are making a leap from what evidence there is and what Johnny's motivations were.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Is this another one of those times where you take a quote out of context and twist it until it suits you?

"One side negotiated in good faith"

Pretty certain he meant his side

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

But we don't know that.

"Gaudreau used the Flames as leverage and had no intention of signing. There is more than enough evidence out there."

I disagree. I think you are making a leap from what evidence there is and what Johnny's motivations were.

I actually think Johnny would be a Flame today if it was entirely up to him. I get the feeling that it was going to happen and the wife at the end laid down the law that she didn't want to be in Calgary and he had to back out. It was probably the best move for both parties at the end of the day as if the wife isn't buying in it's going to lead to issues down the line especially on an 8 year deal. You only have to look at the issues Tom Brady is facing in his marriage by deciding to unretire to see what happens if the husband makes the decision on his own.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I don't think it's fair to say we know why Johnny did what he did.
There is evidence that the Flames met his contract demands and then he backed out.
We can't say for sure why. We can speculate it was to use as leverage, but the deal he eventually signed doesn't support that.

I think it is simply that once the Flames met his demands, and he had to actually commit, he didn't want to. That's it. When it reached the moment to actually sign a deal, and give up the choice to move closer to home and all that, he simply didn't want to.

I do not think he was using the Flames as leverage.

Yep. Also, not sure what leverage you gain when you publicly say "I'm not going to re-sign in Calgary".
Doesn't really matter what the Flames offered at that point.

[redforever]

I don't think Edmonton fans booed Gretzky after he left under similar circumstances. I think Calgary fans can be at least as good as Edmonton fans in this scenario.