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

[ResAlien]

Fans are totally going to boo like children the first time Johnny comes back aren’t they

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

I don't buy it. If you are going to get a big contract want to maximize your market, you announce your intentions early. Waiting until the 11th hour limits how many teams have flexibility. I don't see any agent doing that.

Oh man...no, his agent should have prepped him and their scenario better. I almost guarantee that most of this nonsense was a huge fail by his agent.

Dont get me wrong, Johnny has to take some blame too, because he probably wasnt really clear with his agent, so I agree with you there, he was probably waffling a lot.

A lot of balls were dropped here but I am willing to bet that the Agent was the one unsuccessfully juggling them.

He should have been the one to tell Johnny the obvious. Philly ain't making an offer. Dispel that notion immediately.

Thats what is truly fascinating about this entire scenario. It is just so baffling. Because I'm fairly certain that nobody involved is really happy about how this ended which makes it just so much more interesting.

I'd be willing to bet that Johnny's wife is actually fairly reasonable. She probably made her wants and needs clear. Johnny seems rather indecisive or 'laissez-fair' and the Agent really DGAF, he just wants to get paid the most he can.

He pulled the rug out from under Calgary, the red carpet was not laid out by Philly, New Jersey mysteriously disappeared into the night, it is unclear if there were other 'Tire Kickers' and then theres just this giant mozza ball left hanging out there in Columbus.

I was pretty disappointed when it went down, not going to lie. Now though? Now I'm just fascinated about what all of these moving pieces might have been.

But I am comfortable in that fascination because Tkachuk got us a King's Ransom. What is really fascinating is that talking to some friends, I had actually propositioned the concept of a sign-and-trade for Johnny if he didnt want to stay and lo and behold he pulls this and then the Flames proceed to do exactly what I proposed except with Chucky, granted, I had no concept of what the return might be just that the idea actually made sense.

And as someone who has been heavily and vocally critical of Treliving I cant do anything but tip my hat to him.

How he turned this off-season around to his advantage after essentially being screwed at every turn is nothing short of mid-level genuine miracle.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Johnny Hooey.

[JohnnyB]

Johnny has has amazing hockey skills, but the diplomatic skills of Mr. Bean.

[tvp2003]

I hope Johnny does well for what will likely be a middling Columbus team because he’s a talented player and exciting to watch— but yes I will be booing him whenever he touches the puck in Calgary, and I probably won’t be the only one. Not because I’m childish or classless but because I’m a sports fan and sports are supposed to be fun.

Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta

https://www.nhl.com/news/johnny-gaud...ld/c-335676784

Maybe Johnny just really doesn't like doing things until the last minute. I chuckled a bit reading this article where it reads they will welcome their baby into the world this week but still have not built any "baby stuff". I remember my wife had me have our son's room fully ready and stocked 5 months before the due date.

Exciting times for the Gaudreau family, wishing his wife and baby the best of health.

Haha I was thinking the same thing. I get it — hockey players don’t get to have a lot of downtime during the season, and this is the last summer he has before the baby arrives, but seriously Johnny — what have you been doing all summer?!?

Here’s the exact quote from the article:

"It's been a whirlwind, for sure," Gaudreau told NHL.com on Wednesday. "I mean, I thought it was crazy in the summertime when I finally signed in Columbus and came out here for a day, but this past week's been pretty hectic.

"Trying to find time to skate and work out, and then come home to an empty house. Wife's, like, ready to pop, and nothing in our house. No baby stuff. It's all on its way. It's still not here.

"It's getting hectic, but it's supposed to be here in the next few days. I'll be at training camp, and then I'll come home and build a ton of baby [stuff]. It'll be a fun couple weeks here."

According to this article (which talks about Gaudreau and Gudbranson moving to Columbus), it sounds like they moved in mid-August and had their kid a short time after:

“We had a busy (first) few weeks,” said Gudbranson, who signed a four-year contract with the Blue Jackets a few hours before Gaudreau on the first day of NHL free agency in July. “We came here on August 14, moved in the 16th, had a kid the 25th … so after the baby arrived, we kind of put it in cruise control and enjoyed the last bit of summer.”

https://www.dispatch.com/story/sport...s/69513443007/

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by ResAlien

Fans are totally going to boo like children the first time Johnny comes back aren’t they

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

There is no universally right/wrong strategy for negotiating a deal

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Locke

But I am comfortable in that fascination because Tkachuk got us a King's Ransom. What is really fascinating is that talking to some friends, I had actually propositioned the concept of a sign-and-trade for Johnny if he didnt want to stay and lo and behold he pulls this and then the Flames proceed to do exactly what I proposed except with Chucky, granted, I had no concept of what the return might be just that the idea actually made sense.

Thachuk had a year left on his contract, Johnny was a UFA.

There was no “sign and trade” available for anything other than a late pick regardless.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand what changed. What happened just after that time period where he wanted to stay with the Flames for his career? Meredith happened. Now this is not me putting the guy down for putting his wife's desires ahead of his own but if you look at everything that happened it is pretty clear to me who ultimately made the decision to leave Calgary and go back to the US and it was not Gaudreau or his family who by all accounts seem to have wanted to continue the relationship with the Flames. Given what we know about Gaudreau it would fit that he is the submissive one in his relationship and she is the decision maker and the boss. Guy probably just wants to keep her and her family happy and play hockey first, winning and legacy can take a back seat. Again, not saying he is wrong to do that although someday down the road when his career is over and he is just another skilled player who didn't really accomplish much he might regret not sticking to his guns.

You are dead wrong on all of this. I am not going to divulge the conversations between the Gaudreaus, but I will say I have enough knowledge of the situation to know this is not what happened. If it was entirely up to her, he would have retired a Flame.

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Do you think Gaudreau walked in the Flames shoes a bit, and thought about their position at all? Do you think he walks in the fans shoes a bit, to understand where they are coming from and why they may be frustrated at his handling of it?

Understand he is a nice guy and conflicted and all that, he also is an adult and violated what I would consider to be very basic parameters of respect when discussing a contract. Basic things like being as upfront as possible to a team that already paid you over $45MM to play hockey for them over around a decade or so. It would have cost Johnny precisely zero to just be honest and it is opaquely clear he was not.

A lot of forgiveness for a person that showed the Flames, the city, the fans absolutely zero respect, whatsoever.

It's hilarious people are "shocked" at the reaction to Johnny's departure.

You are just making my point, I said that Johnny didn't handle the situation very well; but people making assumptions about his intentions are just making assumptions. We both know it is a lot more complicated that. Just like people who make assumptions that I am being rude when I dont asnwer those who are talking to me behind my back. Makes no difference if it is an adult talking to me, or not. Implying that Johnny is an adult has no bearing, he was likely quite conflicted when things went down.

[Cole436]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand what changed. What happened just after that time period where he wanted to stay with the Flames for his career? Meredith happened. Now this is not me putting the guy down for putting his wife's desires ahead of his own but if you look at everything that happened it is pretty clear to me who ultimately made the decision to leave Calgary and go back to the US and it was not Gaudreau or his family who by all accounts seem to have wanted to continue the relationship with the Flames. Given what we know about Gaudreau it would fit that he is the submissive one in his relationship and she is the decision maker and the boss. Guy probably just wants to keep her and her family happy and play hockey first, winning and legacy can take a back seat. Again, not saying he is wrong to do that although someday down the road when his career is over and he is just another skilled player who didn't really accomplish much he might regret not sticking to his guns.

Dude, this is gross and embarrassing.

We don't have any insider knowledge about what happened, but we all do know that Guy had a heart attack a few years and understanding your parents are mortal is a big shift in life.

Blaming Meredith or saying that Johnny is "submissive" is frankly kind of creepy. He made the best choice for his family with his family, there's nothing more to it than that.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by ResAlien

Fans are totally going to boo like children the first time Johnny comes back aren’t they

I won't boo him, but I also won't cheer when they show his welcome back video either. The minute he walked, he became just some random player to me. I'm interested in seeing how Chucky does in Florida, and I'll be actively cheering for Monahan all the way... but the only Johnny in the league is the one wearing #10 for the C of Red.

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by ResAlien

Fans are totally going to boo like children the first time Johnny comes back aren’t they

Fans are going to boo like fans, period.

[FlamesAddiction]

I wouldn't boo him. People are free to do what they want, but personally I wouldn't. He didn't do anything wrong and gave the team his prime years. It sucked that he didn't decide until the last minute, but it just shows that it wasn't an easy decision for him. In the end, the Flames management decided how to handle him as an asset and decided that they were comfortable walking him to the temptation of unrestricted free agency. Given the season he had and how the team as a whole did, it is hard to argue that it was the wrong decision either. It did come with a cost though.

[chedder]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

You are dead wrong on all of this. I am not going to divulge the conversations between the Gaudreaus, but I will say I have enough knowledge of the situation to know this is not what happened. If it was entirely up to her, he would have retired a Flame.

The plot thickens!! Not a surprise the poster is dead wrong. He's been dead wrong about Gaudreau the whole time.

As a Flames fan I don't care why anymore and don't care how he does in Columbus. He gave us some great moments and highlights and very little playoff success. The team is better on paper now. Let's get the season going to see if that translates into real life.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by ResAlien

Fans are totally going to boo like children the first time Johnny comes back aren’t they

I can't wait. I hope he chokes vs CGY too and Huby makes him look like the worse 1LW. He made a poor choice even though he had the right to make it. We shouldn't just let him off the hook because he spent a couple contracts here. The recent media comments confirm that the salt between him and the team is real and for me that means we can return the favor without shame. He has been a brat and deserves the full boo bird might of the C of Red!

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

Johnny has has amazing hockey skills, but the diplomatic skills of Mr. Bean.

Mr. Bean knows when to keep his mouth shut.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by ResAlien

Fans are totally going to boo like children the first time Johnny comes back aren’t they

Children don’t boo. They’re too dumb to know when to boo. And if they did, they’d suck at it. They have high pitched whiny voices, weak lungs and lack stamina. Booing is a man’s game.

[saillias]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

Johnny has has amazing hockey skills, but the diplomatic skills of Mr. Bean.

This. When you get quotes popping up saying 'I don't care about the Flames or what they do now 😈" its what someone trying to be a heel would say. Except we know that's not his personality at all. he is not mean or outgoing enough to intentionally come off like that.

[Zulu29]

Is it bad that I don’t care and am kinda glad he’s gone? I like the look of this team much more now than when Johnny and Tkachuk were on it. People have complained for years about the core and out of necessity, Treliving did a heart transplant on the team. Hopefully it works out.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Its just something no former player needs to go out of their way to say. Why say it? Doesnt he know there is a script for discussing former teams? He has been skillfully bad with handling this breakup on his end that you almost can't draw it up between the befuddled cbj signing, and his posts and quotes. Meanwhile the Flames are just like ok we'll sign the one LW that outplayed you last year..smell ya later.