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

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I just thought we were better than this. We all had months to prepare for this possibility and it's like some here actually didn't think him leaving was a possibility or something.

Do you honestly believe this thread has 2400 posts simply because he left? Pretty sure you don't.

[Bleeding Red]

After 2400+ posts this is what I get:

- JG at some point, at some time, had an issue with Calgary - the city and/or the organization. (fault may be with any and all parties)

- JG's wife is either from CLB or has close family there, and she had A LOT of say in the relocation.

- JG's contract with CLB, according to Capgeek, has a full no move clause with a limited no trade clause in the last 3 years, signing bonus of $2m, base salary of $7,750.

- NJD may have played hardball on the clauses, clearly something important to JG. (On NJD only Hamilton has a NMC. Johannsson has an M-NTC froma contract signed with TOR. according to Capfriendly).

- PHA must have told JG that they had no intention of clearing cap space to accommodate him, otherwise we would all still be waiting.

At this point I am no longer angry or looking for blame. I'd really just like some truth to help with understanding.

[GirlySports]

so there is a signing bonus, that's a bit better. Still should have been frontloaded.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Bleeding Red

After 2400+ posts this is what I get:

- JG at some point, at some time, had an issue with Calgary - the city and/or the organization. (fault may be with any and all parties)

- JG's wife is either from CLB or has close family there, and she had A LOT of say in the relocation.


- JG's contract with CLB, according to Capgeek, has a full no move clause with a limited no trade clause in the last 3 years, signing bonus of $2m, base salary of $7,750.

- NJD may have played hardball on the clauses, clearly something important to JG. (On NJD only Hamilton has a NMC. Johannsson has an M-NTC froma contract signed with TOR. according to Capfriendly).

- PHA must have told JG that they had no intention of clearing cap space to accommodate him, otherwise we would all still be waiting.

At this point I am no longer angry or looking for blame. I'd really just like some truth to help with understanding.

JG's wife is from the same area as him. It's been suggested she has family in Columbus which I took to mean extended family.

Philly publicly withdrew at a pretty early stage.

I'm still not sure Gaudreau had any issue with Calgary per se. It seems clear he wanted to be in the US and closER to home.

The main thing people are upset about is that he seemed to string Calgary along for reasons we can only guess at. And at worst, he actually set out a demand for a 10.5 contract and the Flames agreed, only to have him go silent and then at the last minute say he still wasn't signing.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Bleeding Red

After 2400+ posts this is what I get:

- JG at some point, at some time, had an issue with Calgary - the city and/or the organization. (fault may be with any and all parties)

- JG's wife is either from CLB or has close family there, and she had A LOT of say in the relocation.

- JG's contract with CLB, according to Capgeek, has a full no move clause with a limited no trade clause in the last 3 years, signing bonus of $2m, base salary of $7,750.

- NJD may have played hardball on the clauses, clearly something important to JG. (On NJD only Hamilton has a NMC. Johannsson has an M-NTC froma contract signed with TOR. according to Capfriendly).

- PHA must have told JG that they had no intention of clearing cap space to accommodate him, otherwise we would all still be waiting.

At this point I am no longer angry or looking for blame. I'd really just like some truth to help with understanding.

That's a great summary.

I would add a few more

-Murray Edwards may have yelled at him for "supposedly" playing the Flames.
-Johnny may have chosen Columbus because he wants to play in what is widely considered a non-hockey market (but in the US)

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Do you honestly believe this thread has 2400 posts simply because he left? Pretty sure you don't.

If he hadn't left, I doubt the thread about him leaving would exist.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

so there is a signing bonus, that's a bit better. Still should have been frontloaded.

And it still looks rushed - the bonus is the same every year. Usually the bonuses ramp up.

[Azure]

Edwards being involved at all creates a strange vibe for the entire organization. Why have a GM at all if the owner is going to deal with players directly?

[2macinnis2]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Probably not but don't overrate the NJ fan base. I think a player can disappear there pretty easily. Look at Dougie Hamilton. I feel he's a player that doesn't love the spotlight himself.

Yeah NY sports is kind of odd, but I would say that the Devils (and Islanders) have their niche of fans that are actually pretty intense about their teams. They aren’t easy-going either. It’s not like playing for the Rangers or Flyers, true, but it isn’t playing in Ohio. Ohio just isn’t a place that really cares about hockey.

Hamilton is interesting point. Is it possible that Hamilton is a more confident player than Gaudreau, in terms of his role and what he brings?

[Ford Prefect]

One thing that has been touched on lightly but perhaps not focused on much is the covid factor. I think perhaps that’s the “family reasons”. As some have mentioned with a new born on the way and a looming 4th covid wave, or 5th or whatever it is, that has to be a big factor. Especially with his wife being a nurse. She’s going to have definite opinions on covid, and being stuck on the wrong side of an international border cut off from family would be a legitimate concern.

The alleged events that went down on Tuesday night make sense and have a ring of truth. If they’re true no doubt when push came to shove and the Gaudreaus had their bluff called they were forced to reneg on the offer they’d extended to the Flames because they never had any intention of staying.

I found a comment John made at the end of his Columbus presser interesting…it was near the end during the Zoom questions. I’m paraphrasing, but he said they had decided they weren’t going back to Calgary and once that was decided the destination didn’t really matter. It was in reference to why he chose Columbus.

I have no problem with them not wanting to be cut off from family if another covid outbreak shuts down the border. That’s a legitimate family reason. But that decision would have been made well before Tuesday night. Potentially as early as when they found out they were having a baby. If that’s the case, leading everyone on until the last minute is gutless, deceitful and selfish. They may not have even shared that with his agent.

This is all speculation on my part. I’m just trying to make sense of a very bizarre situation, but it makes sense to me that covid concerns could have been the “family reasons”.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Azure

Edwards being involved at all creates a strange vibe for the entire organization. Why have a GM at all if the owner is going to deal with players directly?

I said this elsewhere, it sounds like Edwards was only there (along with Treliving) to make the final pitch. I think lots of owners do that. Players want to know the guy in charge is on board. And owners, being permanent, can talk about the future with even more confidence than a GM.

[DeluxeMoustache]

What must Philly fans think ?

With pretty good reason to believe an elite talent in Gaudreau may actually want to come there, and only one year of JVR left at 7 M, they commit over 10 million long term, 5.1 to Rasmus Rostolainen and then trade for locker room poison Tony deAngelo

If Gaudreau we can speculate may have taken a bit less, say just over 9 million to join Philly, that would be only a couple million north of the over 7 million that they are paying Kevin Hayes

Yikes

I and many of you on CP would be a better GM than Chuck Fletcher

[DinnerDog]

Originally Posted by Azure

Edwards being involved at all creates a strange vibe for the entire organization. Why have a GM at all if the owner is going to deal with players directly?

I remember a few years ago when meddling owners was brought up, can't recall the exact scenario that brought this on, but the question was asked to Friedman and he basically said if you think all owners in the NHL don't have input/meddle in hockey ops, you're kidding yourself.

These guys are all invested in how their money is spent and like to be involved in decisions, because it's fun for them.

On top of that, it's the biggest negotiation they've had in franchise history I would imagine. I can absolutely see owners being invested in the process.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by 2macinnis2

Yeah NY sports is kind of odd, but I would say that the Devils (and Islanders) have their niche of fans that are actually pretty intense about their teams. They aren’t easy-going either. It’s not like playing for the Rangers or Flyers, true, but it isn’t playing in Ohio. Ohio just isn’t a place that really cares about hockey.

Hamilton is interesting point. Is it possible that Hamilton is a more confident player than Gaudreau, in terms of his role and what he brings?

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Azure

Edwards being involved at all creates a strange vibe for the entire organization. Why have a GM at all if the owner is going to deal with players directly?

Really? You think owners shouldn’t talk to franchise players?

Or that the owner can just take on whatever other duties the GM has?

[nickerjones]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Yeah I didn't think it was possible for someone to make a huge life decision that.. casually.

I was astounded by his answers too. It's like he spun a bottle to decide, checked out a quick Google image search of the city, called up Gross to ring Jarmo and took the first contract draft they could scrounge up in their excitement and disbelief.

Let me tell you about my college football team's ex- coach, Lincoln Riley. Stated USC called him the night of his last game for Oklahoma and in 12 hours he decided to uproot his family and move from Norman, Oklahoma to So Cal. Yes, SoCal is "cooler" than Oklahoma but to lead people to believe you made a life changing monumental decision in a few hours is embarrassing.

This had been plotted and thought out. Same with Johnny. Now looking back on all the stuff he and his family said about loving the city it seems disingenuous. Almost like they were "too nice" about the city.

[PeteMoss]

The whole 'inside the room' Murray did this or that stuff - I take it all with a grain of salt. I doubt there was 20 guys in the room and whatever information we are getting here is coming 3rd or 4th hand.

People are just believing whatever story they want to fit their narrative:
- Murray sucks and ruined it
- Gaudreau's an idiot and doesn't know what he's doing
- Gaudreau's an evil guy and wanted to screw over the Flames
- Gaudeau's an mindless buffoon and his wife/family dictate what he does
- Gross is a terrible agent and ruined the negotations and screwed over Gaudreau
- Treliving sucks and low balled him and got Gaudreau pissed at him

There are all out there for you to believe whatever you want because no one really knows what happened and we are all unlikely to know.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

What must Philly fans think ?

With pretty good reason to believe an elite talent in Gaudreau may actually want to come there, and only one year of JVR left at 7 M, they commit over 10 million long term, 5.1 to Rasmus Rostolainen and then trade for locker room poison Tony deAngelo

If Gaudreau we can speculate may have taken a bit less, say just over 9 million to join Philly, that would be only a couple million north of the over 7 million that they are paying Kevin Hayes

Yikes

I and many of you on CP would be a better GM than Chuck Fletcher

And since the day it happened I have been 100% convinced that the only reason they signed Hayes to that contract was to use him as Gaudreau bait.

[Monahammer]

I am not even judging Johnny's choice here any more, I just think it's ridiculous that he didn't even know what players he was maybe playing with in Columbus?

Clearly this move was not about winning a cup at any point. lol.

[powderjunkie]

Question for everyone dissecting Johnny's press conference - was he ever particularly comfortable doing this kind of media? Post-game interviews are a bit of a different thing, and over time he would have developed some comfort with the local reporters and process...I can just see how this would be a bit of an overwhelming situation for someone with his personality...