I am all for this. Bring back the former face of the franchise, and this time his wife has no say in the matter. The real reason most fans are so salty - me included is because we miss him, and we are bitter from how he left. Part of me fantacizes about him returning and solidifying his legacy as one of the flames all time greats.
A pipe dream yes, but it would be fun and a great fan moment. Yaknow.. the reason we cheer for our favorite sports teams in the first place.
I miss Gaudreau’s magic, but for me it’s a hard NO to bringing him back. If he’s not scoring at an elite level he’s the weakest link on the roster. I hated the dynamic of knowing other teams could target Johnny and the Flames would lose their minds chasing the threats around instead of focusing on winning the game. I’d rather enjoy the fond memories than try to build a winning team around Gaudreau again.
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Originally Posted by SmoggyFlamesFan
I am all for this. Bring back the former face of the franchise, and this time his wife has no say in the matter. The real reason most fans are so salty - me included is because we miss him, and we are bitter from how he left. Part of me fantacizes about him returning and solidifying his legacy as one of the flames all time greats.
A pipe dream yes, but it would be fun and a great fan moment. Yaknow.. the reason we cheer for our favorite sports teams in the first place.
At least one member did, by many accounts; arguably, the most influential one. And not a single source has indicated a hint of change there. So it’s not happening, irrespective of how butthurt anyone in the organization may or may not be.
At least one member did, by many accounts; arguably, the most influential one. And not a single source has indicated a hint of change there. So it’s not happening, irrespective of how butthurt anyone in the organization may or may not be.
I don't remember anything other than pure speculation.
It is good that we all get to be detectives and armchair psychologists about this all over again, though. Sequels always pan out.
__________________ "It's a great day for hockey."
-'Badger' Bob Johnson (1931-1991)
"I see as much misery out of them moving to justify theirselves as them that set out to do harm." -Dr. Amos "Doc" Cochran
All this Huby is a good guy talk is true but irrelevant.
He's being paid to be a GREAT hockey player.
If we're supposed to just be happy with commitment to the city, I'd rather they sign Dino & save $10 million bucks.
But this trade is make believe fun and would never happen anyway.
I need at least league min though
Huberdeau is playing better than Gaudreau currently
Gaudreau has a better contract
Hopefully COL would follow what CGY did (ie did not do), that is not watch any tape of Huberdeau before making the trade. At least with JG we know what we would be getting in return.
No thanks and I think Huby pulls a Jeff Skinner and has a rough season or 2 after his signing and then gets back to his usual self...80 to 90 points per.
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*Disclaimer: I am a "glass half full" Flames fan.
Go for it. Then we can boo Gaudreau an extra 40 games a year.
Would be such a Flames thing to do losing a player for nothing only to spend assets to bring them back. Heck even happened to our GM.
Yup.
The draft is a source of free cheap talent in the salary cap era. And we're obsessed with re-arranging the deck chairs on this ship.
When I look at it, our second line center or top 4 dman of the future core should have been drafted with assets acquired through trading our current UFA class.
We need 10 impact positions to open the 2026 -27 season...6 forwards, and 4 Dman. Those 10 positions will occupy 80% of our cap space, which is projected to be $90m+. Those 10 positions will need to score 220+ goals a year. Impact years for NHLers under the way the rules are called are 22 - 27 yrs old.
It'd be great to get our of all of our long term deals, but we don't need to spend assets to do it. By the time 2026 rolls around Kadri and Huberdeau will be relatively 15%-20% cheaper. It hurts us, but a marginal upgrade that costs us draft capital or cap is detrimental.
Ideal world as the years roll off their deals, they may have a renaissance season that makes them attractive to dump. If not other options like buying them out or burying them on LTIR become an option.
The key is not signing ANY boat anchor contracts, and dumping all our UFA assets moving forward. You have to be perfect on return if you're reloading, but if you're rebuilding you just want as many chances to get NHL top 6 F or top 4 D as possible.
No thanks and I think Huby pulls a Jeff Skinner and has a rough season or 2 after his signing and then gets back to his usual self...80 to 90 points per.
Big difference is Skinner struggled and found his game again while still in his 20’s. Is Huberdeau going to all for a sudden do what we haven’t seen at all in Calgary at age 31-32?
Of course the Flames would make that move without even thinking about it. Shorter contract, less AAV, and Gaudreau has 'worked' in Calgary for a number of years. Huberdeau hasn't fit-in yet.
Worst case scenario is Gaudreau regressed, or doesn't fit well any longer. That's still 2 less years and less AAV. Plus it isn't huge signing bonuses. If you hated him that much, you make the trade and buy him out (though that would probably be stupid - you would at least want to see how things worked out).
I will say this as well - I can not stand Huberdeau's fit on this team. He is turning pucks over and releasing any pressure or momentum that this team manages to build. He is not only NOT the best playmaker in Flames' history, but he is also one of the worst playmakers on the team right now. He is not connecting on any passes, and is continuously making unforced errors. He is reminding me a lot of Shantz back in the day.
With that being said, I also do think that a lot of his (currently terrible) game is just mental, and I do expect a bounce back to near a PPG for a few seasons at least. I would never guess it by watching him play, but I do expect a bounce-back just because of his consistent offensively gifted stat-lines. He didn't experience a significant injury. He didn't just suddenly age at the age of 29. I expect a bounce-back simply because there is not underlying rationale as to why he should continue to be this bad, other than it just being a confidence issue right now.
Even though I assume he is going to rebound, I make that trade without zero hesitation. It would be ridiculous not to IMO. Even if he has a huge bounce-back, you are still on the hook for those last 3-4 years of low production, and I would rather eliminate as many of those as possible.
Go for it. Then we can boo Gaudreau an extra 40 games a year.
Would be such a Flames thing to do losing a player for nothing only to spend assets to bring them back. Heck even happened to our GM.
So you consider Huberdeau on his current contract an asset? Great, what other valuable assets can we trade him for that would be comparable to Gaudreau?
Personally, I'd do it. And contrary to what people state, his wife was very happy to stay in Calgary.
Wife's preference = Calgary/eastern team that isn't too close to Johnny's party friends near home, so they could have their own little life away from his ****ty friends. (She really liked it in Calgary because it was a place where she could have her own life with him away from his partying friends, along with genuinely liking the city)
Johnny's preference = Close to his family, party friends (Philly/New Jersey). Johnny would have taken New Jersey even at a lower contract in a heart beat, Columbus was the last minute compromise for them.
I agree I’d take him back. Way more interesting to watch than Huberdeau. By like a factor of 10x. They’ll both be bound to float around 80%+ for the remainder of their careers (human nature) so may as well get the more interesting one.
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