Matthew Tkachuk & Johnny Gaudreau Signing Watch Thread

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by southside

friedman saying gaudreau camp has likely reached out to more teams to gauge interst. Mentioned columbus specifically. ...

wtf

[HitterD]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

wtf

Seems to me Gross may have overplayed his hand, and is now trying to get additional teams involved to drive the prove back up to closer to the flames offer, considered perhaps NJ and PHI maybe correctly called that Johnnys options were too narrowed and offered far less than expected

[littlereddevil]

Originally Posted by Blaster86

I think, as a Canadian franchise, you have to accept that almost no one wants to play here if they're given equal opportunity and money elsewhere. While there are rare exceptions, and some cities have an easier time dealing with this than others, I think it's consistent across the board for all 7 franchises

We won the division, and if it weren't for this team forgetting how to play hockey against the Oilers in the playoffs, would have been conference finalists. It's not like this team was a long-shot for making the playoffs. We were a few pieces away from being in the same position as Colorado.

I'll say it once and I'll say it again. I don't think Gaudreau really cares about winning or money. If he did he would have already re-signed with Calgary. Is he going to give that all up to sign with a team like Philly, NJ, or the Islanders playing in the deep Metropolitan division? Maybe he has other priorities in life during this point in his NHL career. Remember that he's already a success story in the NHL, being a long-shot to ever become a star, let alone make it into the league.

[Murph]

Originally Posted by HitterD

Seems to me Gross may have overplayed his hand, and is now trying to get additional teams involved to drive the prove back up to closer to the flames offer, considered perhaps NJ and PHI maybe correctly called that Johnnys options were too narrowed and offered far less than expected

Hopefully this is the case and it blows up in his face.

[jg13]

Still can't see him signing anywhere besides Philly or NJ and maybe the Isles but it certainly looks like they're not getting close to the money they had hoped from those "close to home" teams in the mix.

[Ashasx]

johnny returns hype?

[really?]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

Out of thanks but man do I hope he signs an offer sheet (highly doubtful this would happen), either we'd get him at a great price or a hell of a return in draft picks. Tkachuk out for 2x firsts, a 2nd and a 3rd? I'd pack his curling iron and boot his ass outta here myself.

$6,302,230 – $8,402,975
1 First-Round Pick
1 Second-Round Pick
1 Third-Round Pick

$8,402,976 - $10,503,720
2 First-Round Picks
1 Second-Round Pick
1 Third-Round Pick

Good thought, but the Flames now have cap space in spades so if Tkachuk were to sign a sheet the Flames would be able to easily match the deal. If Tkachuk wants to leave, that is the surest way to keep that from happening. Of course if the Flames signed the deal they would be retaining a player who presumably didn't want to be here, but from a financial standpoint they would have little problem retaining Tkachuk as an asset. Might be a good resolution to the situation, but it is unlikely to happen.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by dino7c

This is pretty brutal...he is basically willing to go anywhere in the east after stringing the Flames along



Its not like he got an offer he couldn't refuse from his childhood team

Yeah, after hearing the news yesterday I'm certainly not going to boo him or anything like that. I'm not impressed with how he strung the Flames along but still look back on his time here with fond memories.

...but if he just up and signs with Columbus or someone random like that, then honestly #### that guy. Kicks off the dismantling of this core to seemingly go home and raise his kid with his family, then signs in some random place lol. Get outta here..

[the-rasta-masta]

Originally Posted by HitterD

Seems to me Gross may have overplayed his hand, and is now trying to get additional teams involved to drive the prove back up to closer to the flames offer, considered perhaps NJ and PHI maybe correctly called that Johnnys options were too narrowed and offered far less than expected

Seems to me this is more about money than has been let on. The Flames offered him $10.5 when Gaudreau's ask was $11.5. It seems there was a dollar figure that Johnny would have stayed for if the Flames had gotten there, and I speculate AAV is more important to Johnny than the 8th year. I'm starting to think Gross and him thought they could get more on the open market than the Flames were offering, and as you say perhaps are now seeing that is not the case? Who knows.

[InternationalVillager]

If Kawhi Leonard can leave Toronto after winning a championship and being one of the favourites to repeat if he stayed, Johnny Gaudreau can leave Calgary. I think in most cases, it’s become pretty obvious that sports players want to make their millions and live in big US cities. I don’t blame them and as a result, Canadian teams are at a huge competitive disadvantage and now the Cup not being won by a Canadian team since early 90s makes more sense. I doubt that trend ends anytime soon.

[GullFoss]

Originally Posted by really?

Good thought, but the Flames now have cap space in spades so if Tkachuk were to sign a sheet the Flames would be able to easily match the deal. If Tkachuk wants to leave, that is the surest way to keep that from happening. Of course if the Flames signed the deal they would be retaining a player who presumably didn't want to be here, but from a financial standpoint they would have little problem retaining Tkachuk as an asset. Might be a good resolution to the situation, but it is unlikely to happen.

That is really interesting as it notes that Tkachuk's only real option if he wants out is to sign the 1y, $9m contract. If he signs an offer sheet, flames match and then he's a Flame for seven-years.

He won't repeat last years numbers without Johnny. So if he signs the 1y, $9m contact...he's probably hurting his UFA salary.

It's in Tkachuck interest to actually just negotiate a long-term deal with Calgary or request a trade before the season begins so he can sign a long-term deal elsewhere.

[VilleN]

Time for a fire sale. Sign all the Dennis Gilberts of the world and bottom out. Bring Ward and Gully back to ‘coach’. See if Hiller is interested in coming back for a season.

[trackercowe]

I wonder if he'll end up in Seattle? They need a franchise player to sell the team. They could offer him similar money over 7 years as Calgary could have offered him over 8.

7x12... could they manage that salary?

[GullFoss]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

Yeah, after hearing the news yesterday I'm certainly not going to boo him or anything like that. I'm not impressed with how he strung the Flames along but still look back on his time here with fond memories.

...but if he just up and signs with Columbus or someone random like that, then honestly #### that guy. Kicks off the dismantling of this core to seemingly go home and raise his kid with his family, then signs in some random place lol. Get outta here..

If he's seriously looking at Columbus, then maybe he'd even come back to Calgary. Because at that point, you can either be with a contender in a city you know...or you can be in Columbus lol.

[littlereddevil]

Originally Posted by InternationalVillager

If Kawhi Leonard can leave Toronto after winning a championship and being one of the favourites to repeat if he stayed, Johnny Gaudreau can leave Calgary. I think in most cases, it’s become pretty obvious that sports players want to make their millions and live in big US cities. I don’t blame them and as a result, Canadian teams are at a huge competitive disadvantage and now the Cup not being won by a Canadian team since early 90s makes more sense. I doubt that trend ends anytime soon.

Good point. Canadian teams will always be smaller markets than any U.S. team, the exception being Toronto and Montreal of course (and even then they'll have a hard time retaining players). During the next CBA negotiations, I hope the owners of Canadian teams really try to push for a fairer deal for their teams. Any neutral fan can easily notice how much the NHL has become an American market's dream.

[GioforPM]

LOL. Outside of the NYC/NJ/Philly area the closest teams to "home" are Washington, then Pittsburgh, Boston. Then Buffalo and Columbus are next. It's possible JG has told Gross the offers aren't good enough and he is now forced to widen his geographic circle. And The Pens, Caps, and Bruins have zero space for this kind of deal.

Funny how when you limit your destinations how the price goes down.

[Racki]

Lewis, swallow your pride and come back to the table. There’s no shame in accepting that you’ve made a mistake.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by jg13

Still can't see him signing anywhere besides Philly or NJ and maybe the Isles but it certainly looks like they're not getting close to the money they had hoped from those "close to home" teams in the mix.

People assuming he had a team lined up may be wrong.

He just decided to say no to Calgary. Wrong country and just too far away.

[Gaskal]

I don't think the Gaudreau camp is entertaining any actual thought of living & playing out of Columbus (a entire day's drive from Carney's Point, where he grew up).

It's basically between NYI/NJ at this point unless he wants to NOT play close to his family.

They just want to drive up the price because they know Columbus has like over 30 million of cap space with the only RFA being Patrik Laine to sign this summer and might make an offer that will making NJ or NYI up their offer out of panic.

[rohara66]

Originally Posted by Southside

Friedman saying Gaudreau camp has likely reached out to more teams to gauge interst. Mentioned Columbus specifically. ...

Thats ####ed up.