Matthew Tkachuk & Johnny Gaudreau Signing Watch Thread

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

Sure so why is he not signing if they offered the highest?

He doesn’t want to stay?

The Flames are the only team that can make an offer right now, so of course it is the highest.

Johnny may well want to see what is out there.

[Moneyhands23]

2 more weeks until free agency. Not much longer to see what's what.

[Drunk Uncle]

Johnny would be an absolute fool to sign any deal now regardless of his intentions to stay or leave. The courting period begins July 9th (day after the draft) where teams can work out deals for potential UFAs. That is Johnny's opportunity to play UFA, leverage more money from the Flames and still have the 8 year option from the Flames on the table. There is no way Johnny should pass that opportunity up and there is nothing Tre can do about that.

Personally, I've always felt Johnny will stay and I still expect he will, I just won't be hand wringing until 8pm July 12th.

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by Drunk Uncle

Johnny would be an absolute fool to sign any deal now regardless of his intentions to stay or leave. The courting period begins July 9th (day after the draft) where teams can work out deals for potential UFAs. That is Johnny's opportunity to play UFA, leverage more money from the Flames and still have the 8 year option from the Flames on the table. There is no way Johnny should pass that opportunity up and there is nothing Tre can do about that.

Personally, I've always felt Johnny will stay and I still expect he will, I just won't be hand wringing until 8pm July 12th.

What courting period?? That's gone

[OptimalTates]

They removed the courting period in the last MOU.

[PeteMoss]

The only thing we know at this point is that Gaudreau hasn't said to his agent - just sign whatever they offer and (likely) that he hasn't told them he's not going to sign (i.e. they would probably trade his rights if that was the case). If he's looking to maximize his value then waiting is the best option as deadlines create urgency in negotiations and the money will likely go up.

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

The only thing we know at this point is that Gaudreau hasn't said to his agent - just sign whatever they offer and (likely) that he hasn't told them he's not going to sign (i.e. they would probably trade his rights if that was the case). If he's looking to maximize his value then waiting is the best option as deadlines create urgency in negotiations and the money will likely go up.

Stop offering rational opinions that provide hope please

[Vinny01]

I mentioned this earlier but I wonder if the Flames grant Johnny the opportunity to speak to other teams to try and expedite a resolution. If Johnny wants to stay he can give the Flames a counter on what it will take to stay and he can get an idea of what is out there. This gives the Flames the 8th year option still but satisfies Johnny’s reported interest in testing the market.

Risky play by the Flames but I don’t think they want to wait until the 11th hour on the 12th for an answer. Ideally this is settled one way or another by the draft

[Drunk Uncle]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

What courting period?? That's gone

Well thanks for the terrible information sporting news:

http://www.sportingnews.com/us/nhl/n...bjpu4xoyrtrxax

Thanks for the correction all. I'll wring my hands now.

[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by FBI

Pittsburgh is not that close to Philly, it's like a 5 hour drive

Only Philadelphia is home. The other cities are still 2-3 hours away.
If Pittsburgh makes a better offer it’s still a possibility.

It’s not like he can go home everyday if he signed with Boston or Washington or even NJ

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by Drunk Uncle

Well thanks for the terrible information sporting news:

http://www.sportingnews.com/us/nhl/n...bjpu4xoyrtrxax

Thanks for the correction all. I'll wring my hands now.

That's hilarious. Peace out to the sporting News

[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

The Flames are the only team that can make an offer right now, so of course it is the highest.

Johnny may well want to see what is out there.

Agreed. I don’t think the Flames has made the highest possible offer yet

That’s why he is waiting.

[transplant99]

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

The Flames are the only team that can make an offer right now, so of course it is the highest.

Johnny may well want to see what is out there.

Only if he wants to give up the highest offer. Because no one will offer over 7 years what the Flames offer over 8. Including the Flames.

[NegativeSpace]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

I mentioned this earlier but I wonder if the Flames grant Johnny the opportunity to speak to other teams to try and expedite a resolution. If Johnny wants to stay he can give the Flames a counter on what it will take to stay and he can get an idea of what is out there. This gives the Flames the 8th year option still but satisfies Johnny’s reported interest in testing the market.

Risky play by the Flames but I don’t think they want to wait until the 11th hour on the 12th for an answer. Ideally this is settled one way or another by the draft

You are correct. That proposal has the potential to firmly cement his decision either way. If you think that he is not firm on either choice, then I am not sure why the Flames would risk giving away their tiny amount of leverage for the sake of certainty on his decision. In the unlikely scenario that there are not many teams competing for his services, the Flames could always circle back with a 7 year deal if he decides to go to free agency and doesn't like what he sees. However, the status quo leaves the fear of the unknown in Johnny's camp and the incentive to take the 8th year and a good deal. It is really the only leverage the Flames have (however small) so I would guess that they have very hesitant to give it up. At least in my opinion, if the Flames are letting him speak to other teams before free agency then the Flames are trying a hail-mary pass in hopes he doesn't like other offers - and that doesn't bode well for him resigning.

[Zulu29]

Well, unless there’s breaking news we just have to hope that Johnny’s camp gets back to the Flames with a counter or if he wants to move on, let’s them know soon. With Gross at the wheel I don’t have any hope though, guy played hardball last time around.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Only if he wants to give up the highest offer. Because no one will offer over 7 years what the Flames offer over 8. Including the Flames.

You value year 8 as basically worthless to the player, in that you equate $80M over 8 years as better than $79M over 7 years, as an example.

I doubt most players look at it that way.

I would equate $80M over 8 years as being about equal to about $76M over 7 years, more or less, depending on the age of the player when the contract ends.

And I expect Johnny will not take the highest offer regardless of whether he stays in Calgary or goes elsewhere. Just my gut feeling.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

When you need to go back and use Chelios and Ronning as examples I think it proves the point that ALMOST no players actually care about moving “closer to home” - because they haven’t been “home” in 10 -15 years usually so it’s no longer home

It does happen, but it is rare. Maybe JG is the rare case . We’ll see in a few weeks

It's a bit of a numbers game. The top tier of players who could maximize their value with nearly any team also tend to sign extensions at this first opportunity, because they have way more to lose than to gain if they don't.

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

Only Philadelphia is home. The other cities are still 2-3 hours away.
If Pittsburgh makes a better offer it’s still a possibility.

It’s not like he can go home everyday if he signed with Boston or Washington or even NJ

It's not really about him going home during the season, it's facilitating visits for family (both his and hers) and/or making it easier for his wife and baby to go the other way.

[TOfan]

So, seems like all that is known right now is that the Flames have made an offer and the dialogue has been open.

Has Conroy got on the PJ yet to go to Jersey? Would love to be a fly on the wall on Treliving’s office.

[VilleN]

I think the way it probably works is that Gaudreau tells Gross if he wants to sign in Calgary, if he does Gross takes it from there and gets as much money as possible. So this will most likely go until the 11th hour if he signs here.