Matthew Tkachuk & Johnny Gaudreau Signing Watch Thread

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

Seems my view of the NHL reality is much more in line with what is happening than yours. Everything I suggested a couple years ago is playing out in a very painful way. Now run along. Go do your antiquities-based Harry Potter fan fiction and continue hiding behind your moderator status.

This played out in one of the standard ways for it to do so, to the surprise of very few. The difference is that you are now shocked and outraged that the Flames could allow such a travesty to happen, and feel the need to scream from your soapbox. Get over yourself and maybe try to have reasonable discussions, instead of coming here trying to be some kind of champion asshat.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Even then, the chances of drafting that guy are very slim, and a whole bunch of things completely out of the team's control need to happen. The team will get to the point of needing a rebuild, as all teams inevitably do. But I tend to think with all the pining for it to start now most posters do not fully grasp what that will look like, how long it will take, and how painful it will be. When even at the end of it there is no guarantee at all that the finished product would be any better than today's.


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For sure. What I would also like to potentially see is Johnny signed but Tkachuk dealt. Won’t happen but it would be nice to see some young assets brought in for the guy. Especially high picks for a team wanting to build around him.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Even then…10 players in the league have an AAV of $10.5M or higher

McDavid: $12.5M
Panarin: $11.6M
Matthews: $11.6M
Karlsson: $11.5M
Doughty: $11.0M
Tavares: $11.0M
Marner: $10.9M
Price: $10.5M
Kane: $10.5M
Toews: $10.5M

Anywhere between $10.5M and $11.0M over 8 years is a massive offer and one of the largest in NHL history.

Flames have clearly made a fair offer to Gaudreau if the rumors are true and it’s just up to him now if he really wants to go to PHI or NJ or stay in Calgary.

A bunch of these are also too big. A die hard Leafs fan I know was telling me how bad he figures Tavares’ contract is hurting them. Karlsson is just a bad contract. Panarin was an overpay then and hasn’t gotten them anywhere - that team is all about goaltending. And Price, Toews and maybe even Kane are at the “not good value” end of the contract life.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by bax

Letting Gaudreau walk and hoping to land a player of that caliber is a hope and a prayer though. It’s not a plan.

Totally fair. This upcoming draft is expected to be deep though so it’s a little more than a Hail Mary.

[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by fleury

If he wants more than $9.5M I think the Flames should walk, personally. Half those names on that list aren’t worth that either. Johnny isn’t a franchise player to lead a team to the cup. He’s a first line star for sure but he’s very much a secondary guy like Marner. He’s well within his right to seek out his max value but the Flames have been trapped with bad contracts since time. Overpaying for him wouldn’t be good.

Well, it depends on what you can do with the cap. One Johnny is better than 2 James Neal

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I have always been in the camp that you can't overpay players, that if the ask is too much, you have to let them walk.

However, in this instance, I don't feel that way at all. NHL salaries have been pretty much stuck in a range for a while now, as the cap has been held down due to Covid. IMO, the cap is going to explode over the next few years, and we will soon see salaries jump to a new level that is going to make people uncomfortable for a while. That being the case, I am not overly concerned what the AAV is for Gaudreau (obviously, the lower the better) because regardless of where it comes in, I think it will look perfectly fine and reasonable in a very short number of years.

I do wonder if the sports world is heading for a huge re-set though.

More and more people I know are just as happy to watch the game on a big screen and not head down to games. Wonder if we see a huge peel back of revenue in the major sports leagues over the next ten years.

[Johnny Makarov]

ok. To change the mojo of this signing i'm taking down my avatar with Johnny in a Flyers jersey.

He better not sign for $11mil or less elsewhere!

[DJones]

New Jersey I could see but I really don't get Philly.

Older cap strapped team that still isn't any good and a history of terrible asset management. Either hes taking a big home town discount to play with Hayes on that team or it would in all likelihood end poorly.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I do wonder if the sports world is heading for a huge re-set though.

More and more people I know are just as happy to watch the game on a big screen and not head down to games. Wonder if we see a huge peel back of revenue in the major sports leagues over the next ten years.

Nah. As long as they keep trotting out annoying blowhards on the broadcasts, there will always be a market for avoiding that.

I would pay to turn off commentary. Make it a thing Rogers. I currently steal your service.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I do wonder if the sports world is heading for a huge re-set though.

More and more people I know are just as happy to watch the game on a big screen and not head down to games. Wonder if we see a huge peel back of revenue in the major sports leagues over the next ten years.

I expect the landscape will change for sure, but I suspect revenues will keep growing from somewhere (like TV). I don't see the trend of skyrocketing player salaries changing for the foreseeable future, but we'll see.

[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I do wonder if the sports world is heading for a huge re-set though.

More and more people I know are just as happy to watch the game on a big screen and not head down to games. Wonder if we see a huge peel back of revenue in the major sports leagues over the next ten years.

I don’t know. Most people I know prefer to watch the NFL at home instead of paying $200 for standing only to watch the big screen live. But they always sold out.

[c.t.ner]

I gotta say, it's pretty crazy how quiet it has been for the past 12-16 hours. I would have expected something by now from at least one insider.

[JohnnyB]

Johnny is my favorite Flame since Iginla and is often the main reason I'm interested to watch the Flames, but if he's only willing to come on a contract that puts him among those very top-paid players in the league, I don't think signing him is a great choice either. It would be putting him and his bank account ahead of the team success. Not many sign really big money contracts and then go on to win with that team. It's easy to think of players who sign huge contracts and then basically are anchors on team success. For contrast, Tampa's highest paid player on the list is ranked 17 in the league, and it's Vasilevskiy, a guy who is incredibly clutch and plays the most important position on the team. Colorado's top guy is 25 on the list.

Also, if Johnny is in it for the money rather than for team success and legacy, he's likely not the leader to take a team to the cup. Crosby was recognized generational talent and cup winning captain when he signed his last deal, and he took $8.7M at a time when the cap was $14M so that they could keep a good team together and keep winning, which they did. Maxing out the dollars or not is a choice, and it's a choice that leads to more anchors on team success than not. If he's just going for the money, he's not going for team success and legacy imo, and that in itself makes him not worth the money.

[DJones]

They need to break up broadcasting rights. Radio, cable, online, ect. Online doesn't even have to be exclusive.

Obviously the contracts would go down but you should be able to match or surpass it by having multiple contracts.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Many baseball stadiums are empty but salaries are high

As long as you have TV, gambling, and maybe drug money laundering, should be status quo

[CalgaryFan1988]

The way I see it, if it doesn't happen within the next 24 hours Gaudreau will be a Devil tomorrow.

Just my opinion but letting him walk, if his contract demands are too high, isn't the end of the world. Would be better than cash strapping the team and never being able to win anything as a result. Either way, Gaudreau is a great player.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

Johnny is my favorite Flame since Iginla and is often the main reason I'm interested to watch the Flames, but if he's only willing to come on a contract that puts him among those very top-paid players in the league, I don't think signing him is a great choice either. It would be putting him and his bank account ahead of the team success. Not many sign really big money contracts and then go on to win with that team. It's easy to think of players who sign huge contracts and then basically are anchors on team success. For contrast, Tampa's highest paid player on the list is ranked 17 in the league, and it's Vasilevskiy, a guy who is incredibly clutch and plays the most important position on the team. Colorado's top guy is 25 on the list.

Also, if Johnny is in it for the money rather than for team success and legacy, he's likely not the leader to take a team to the cup. Crosby was recognized generational talent and cup winning captain when he signed his last deal, and he took $8.7M at a time when the cap was $14M so that they could keep a good team together and keep winning, which they did. Maxing out the dollars or not is a choice, and it's a choice that leads to more anchors on team success than not. If he's just going for the money, he's not going for team success and legacy imo, and that in itself makes him not worth the money.

Gaudreau is different from every other superstar in the league. He IS the Flames offence. I mean he got Tkachuk to 100 points and Lindholm to 40. McDavid prob couldn't even do that!

Also his hockey IQ is off the chart and he can play at a high level in this league until his late 30s. No problem with this 8 year contract. Give him his $12mil!

[Manhattanboy]

You coulda told us John! Oh, you shoulda told us…!

Too soon? Let’s hope so.

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by c.t.ner

I gotta say, it's pretty crazy how quiet it has been for the past 12-16 hours. I would have expected something by now from at least one insider.

Flames do their business quietly, so I'm not surprised.

[Lanny'sDaMan]

I suspect the next thing we hear OFFICIALLY from the Flames is that the two sides couldn't get it done and Johnny is testing the market



Or in the words of almost every main character from Star Wars, "I have a very bad feeling about this."