To Calgary | By Johnny Gaudreau

[activeStick]

I actually feel Johnny is pretty big on loyalty which is why this took so long. I think he did want to re-sign with the Flames but realized that being close to his family takes priority, which I respect. Guy's heart attack helped him realize this and he articulated this well in his letter. I agree he could have been a lot more decisive early on to not screw the Flames but I don't believe it was intentional.

[Monahammer]

I just want to stop reading about all this already. I no longer care about Johnny Gaudreau. I don't care where he's playing, don't care about his choices, don't care if he's winning, don't care to boo him or cheer for him.

Let's just stop caring about this matter. It happened, it's done. No going back to a previous state.

There's a chinese poem here, my translated version for y'all:

"As I gaze upon that scattered ruins and old untended fields, i am panged with thoughts of grief. I want desperate to climb the path to my home, to throw open the gate and return to once was, but I know there is no path back. There is no path back."

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I just want to stop reading about all this already. I no longer care about Johnny Gaudreau. I don't care where he's playing, don't care about his choices, don't care if he's winning, don't care to boo him or cheer for him.

Let's just stop caring about this matter. It happened, it's done. No going back to a previous state.

There's a chinese poem here, my translated version for y'all:

"As I gaze upon that scattered ruins and old untended fields, i am panged with thoughts of grief. I want desperate to climb the path to my home, to throw open the gate and return to once was, but I know there is no path back. There is no path back."

You are free to do that.

[Angelino]

Who cares, he is a Columbus player. Only interested in reading about Flames players. Gaudreau is no longer relevant.

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I just want to stop reading about all this already. I no longer care about Johnny Gaudreau. I don't care where he's playing, don't care about his choices, don't care if he's winning, don't care to boo him or cheer for him.

Originally Posted by Angelino

Who cares, he is a Columbus player. Only interested in reading about Flames players. Gaudreau is no longer relevant.

nice work clicking on the thread that literally has Johnny Gaudreau in the title guys

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by Inglewood Jack

nice work clicking on the thread that literally has Johnny Gaudreau in the title guys

Had to read the article, of course. My sentiment is meant for post reading. Time to let it all go.

[Drunk Uncle]

I think it's extremely rare to find a professional athlete that chooses his and his families happiness at the expense of millions of dollars. That is what this is about. This has nothing to do with hockey and everything to do with life. Time will tell if Columbus is the right choice or not, but I'll continue to respect the hell out of the values he used to guide his choice.

[Angelino]

Originally Posted by Inglewood Jack

nice work clicking on the thread that literally has Johnny Gaudreau in the title guys

Clicking on a thread post is different than clicking on the article in hopes of finding some sort of closure. Guy isn’t in Calgary, great. Move on and hope Treliving doesn’t botch the Tkachuk situation.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I just want to stop reading about all this already. I no longer care about Johnny Gaudreau. I don't care where he's playing, don't care about his choices, don't care if he's winning, don't care to boo him or cheer for him.

Let's just stop caring about this matter. It happened, it's done. No going back to a previous state.

There's a chinese poem here, my translated version for y'all:

"As I gaze upon that scattered ruins and old untended fields, i am panged with thoughts of grief. I want desperate to climb the path to my home, to throw open the gate and return to once was, but I know there is no path back. There is no path back."

Nm already said

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Benched

I thought it was a good piece, pretty much what we expected, but confirmed in his own words.

For me anyway, it basically cools a bit of anger I had.

Nope.

[Jiri Hrdina]

I think this is likely a pretty genuine summary of why he made the decision
And I don’t fault him at all for what he decided
The only issue I have is if he indeed walked away from a deal after basically verbally agreeing to it

[Roof-Daddy]

I was as mad as anyone when this first happened.

But come on, it's Johnny. There was no malicious intent here. Just extreme indecision. He's a good guy and he is loyal, but the indecision drug out too long and really made him look bad.

The only thing about it that still angers me is if he actually made the "take it or leave it" offer to the Flames and then still walked away after they met that offer to the letter. That's a bad move for sure.

He's not Adam Fox though. That guy's a dick head.

[Phaneuf_Phan]

Thank you Johnny. The deal would have been terrible for the Flames.

[Lonestar]

I don't remember anyone here blinking an eye when Travis Hamonic wanted off the Island to be closer to home. With the contract he was on at the time we screamed from the rooftops "Calgary is only a 90 minute flight from Winnipeg, make it happen Tre!" It's like JG had to live down the street from Mom and Dad for some people to be satisfied with the decision he earned the right to make. I assume logistics of manhandling a package of carseatstrollerbagsandbaby through customs 6 times a year, possible enhanced border restrictions again, and the spotlight of being "the guy" in a hockey crazed market made him step back to see if that's what he wanted a young family endure for 8 years. I had also forgotten about Sir Guy's heart attack.

It's painful to think about how exciting the team was only 5 months ago and now we're staring down the barrel of some bleak bleak years again but you do you, John.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I think this is likely a pretty genuine summary of why he made the decision
And I don’t fault him at all for what he decided
The only issue I have is if he indeed walked away from a deal after basically verbally agreeing to it

I don't.

I think he's completely full of #### and is trying to do damage control over a situation that him and his agent completely bungled.

Why? Because like you said, he agreed, then recanted.

UFAs have the right to do what they want, but within reason you can choose to make that decision without completely screwing over the team who drafted, developed and turned you into a super star who is making more money than 99.99% of the world's population.

Boo him when he comes back. But don't throw jersey's on the ice.

[Cole436]

If people want to believe it’s a PR piece of his agent wrote it, I think that’s a pretty sad way to look at life. He didn’t have to do publish this or allow it to be so vulnerable. This was a mess but life is messy and sometimes you don’t know what you think you want as opposed to what you actually want until it’s staring at you in the face.

It sucks for us that it happened this way but I can understand how he found himself in that position. 7-8 is a long time to have your kid grow up away from grandparents, not see your nieces and nephews grow up, or spend time with your aging family. I’m sure it really was down to the wire with John and eventually the circumstances of his departure won’t matter.

Thanks for 8 great years, Johnny Hockey.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Lonestar

I don't remember anyone here blinking an eye when Travis Hamonic wanted off the Island to be closer to home. With the contract he was on at the time we screamed from the rooftops "Calgary is only a 90 minute flight from Winnipeg, make it happen Tre!" It's like JG had to live down the street from Mom and Dad for some people to be satisfied with the decision he earned the right to make.

I really think the main source of negativity about the decision is the scenario where he says "here's what I'll take to re-sign", the team says "ok here you go, here's what you asked for" and he says "Oh wow I didn't think you'd actually... nah, you know what, I'm still out".

Pretty reasonable to respond to that series of events negatively. You can sign where you want but don't jerk the organization around.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Cole436

If people want to believe it’s a PR piece of his agent wrote it, I think that’s a pretty sad way to look at life. He didn’t have to do publish this or allow it to be so vulnerable. This was a mess but life is messy and sometimes you don’t know what you think you want as opposed to what you actually want.

It sucks for us that it happened this way but I can understand how he found himself in that position. 7-8 is a long time to have your kid grow up away from grandparents, not see your nieces and nephews grow up, or spend time with your aging family. I’m sure it really was down to the wire with John and eventually the circumstances of his departure won’t matter.

Thanks for 8 great years, Johnny Hockey.

I believe someone else wrote it because it doesn't sound like him at all. There are phrases that you can't imagine coming out of him. The only time I ever saw anything written or said by him that was similar was... the last Players Tribune article he had.

[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by chummer

"We wanted to re-sign last summer."

Ok Brad, why didn't that happen?

Treliving gambled and lost on something he couldn’t control. Johnny had a good year.

People say he is a good businessman. He is if you think bully your employees and waste money on UFA is a good businessman

[DeluxeMoustache]

When I heard Johnny’s mom mentioning how it was great to be back in Calgary and it had been 2 years, due to the pandemic, I started being concerned.

It’s a 90 minute flight from Columbus to Philly, which compares favourably for a quick trip to the 7 hour connecting flight from YYC, plus extra time for customs

That part makes some sense.