Tkachuk on his decision

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

F me. Why can't that be Canada.

Nope I was down there for 2 weeks right before covid. Had the time of my life and my family members who live there have such a great lifestyle.

[Psytic]

I think he did us a solid unlike Johnny. I'm glad he was willing to work with the team on a sign and trade to maximize the return. Cant see how anyone would be mad about this. I'm not still working at my first employer either. He handled it like a pro and made sure we didn't get screwed. Im pretty happy with Chucky right now. You guys should all still be working your first paper route then apparently to show your loyalty based on some of the opinions in here.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

This is the neighbourhood where Ekblad lives.

Spoiler!

And people don’t understand why pro athletes choose Florida and California over Alberta and Manitoba?

It will all be underwater soon enough. So jokes on them!

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

It will all be underwater soon enough. So jokes on them!

duh. stilts dude.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

Nope I was down there for 2 weeks right before covid. Had the time of my life and my family members who live there have such a great lifestyle.

It's nice that time of year (I'm assuming you were there in the winter), but most of the rest of the year, not so much. 30+ degrees with 75-80% humidity, hurricanes, and more rain in the summer than a place like Vancouver gets in the winter.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by opendoor

It's nice that time of year (I'm assuming you were there in the winter), but most of the rest of the year, not so much. 30+ degrees with 75-80% humidity, hurricanes, and more rain in the summer than a place like Vancouver gets in the winter.

I would take that over Calgary weather any time.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by opendoor

It's nice that time of year (I'm assuming you were there in the winter), but most of the rest of the year, not so much. 30+ degrees with 75-80% humidity, hurricanes, and more rain in the summer than a place like Vancouver gets in the winter.

Yeah, people don't understand how bad Florida is six months of the year. Just brutal conditions during the summer. You never get dry. Awesome during the winter though. And athletes get so much stuff for free its ridiculous. The Lightning had reciprocal deals all over town for entertainment, so their players could get free golf, meals, tickets to events, etc. just by going through the front office and having them set up the reservation. Nice perk. Play hockey and golf at some of the best courses on off days for free. Tough life.

[camm13]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

Guys! Honestly if you have ever been to Florida you know why he is going. Young, rich, famous and single. He will have an amazing lifestyle interacting with all the celebrities in one of the most beautiful places in North America.

And it's a good team.

He has a pretty good looking blonde girlfriend, I'm sure they both will love the Florida life style more than here.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

Yeah because they are forced to live in Calgary 365 days a year and can't own homes elsewhere...

They are forced to live in Calgary for between 8-10 months of the year depending on playoffs, and they have to be here for our worst weather. Why should they endure that once they can choose not to?

[AC]

Tkachuk released a thank you video:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgaRzbXJimu/

https://twitter.com/user/status/1551325728578363394

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by opendoor

It's nice that time of year (I'm assuming you were there in the winter), but most of the rest of the year, not so much. 30+ degrees with 75-80% humidity, hurricanes, and more rain in the summer than a place like Vancouver gets in the winter.

And yet tens of thousands of extremely wealthy people from all over the world have moved to Miami and bought homes.

That’s a pretty straightforward way to measure how desirable a location is: How many rich people (rich enough not to worry about work or the job market) who aren’t from the community choose to relocate or have second (or third) homes there.

Miami, Tampa Bay, San Jose, LA, New York - ####loads

Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa - zero

Us middle-class wage slaves might have different priorities. But the numbers don’t lie - rich people like hot weather, beaches, year-around golf, and all the wonderful things (high-end restaurants, night-clubs, shopping, etc) that come with large concentrations of other rich people. The player rankings of the most desirable NHL cities that sometimes appear in places like the Hockey News and Athletic bear out those priorities.

[iggyloob12]

Originally Posted by AC

Tkachuk released a thank you video:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgaRzbXJimu/

Throughout this process, Tkachuck has come across as the polar opposite of Gaudreau. From how he went about securing his next contract to choosing a location to saying goodbye in a timely way, he's just smart and savvy.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by AC

Tkachuk released a thank you video:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgaRzbXJimu/

https://twitter.com/user/status/1551325728578363394

That was beautiful.

[opendoor]

How many of those ultra wealthy people live in those Miami homes year round? Palm Springs has a ton of wealthy people in the winter too, but it's a ghost town for half the year because the weather is intolerable.

If someone is picking an NHL team because of weather, it starts and ends with Southern California. Then below that is San Jose, Phoenix, and Vegas. I'm not even sure if Miami (or Sunrise, to be more precise) would make my top 10 NHL cities for weather.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by iggyloob12

Throughout this process, Tkachuck has come across as the polar opposite of Gaudreau. From how he went about securing his next contract to choosing a location to saying goodbye in a timely way, he's just smart and savvy.

He's got better handlers, starting with his father, who made all the same mistakes Gaudreau made. Don't think for a second Tkachuk's career has not been mapped out to the Nth degree. Matthew is all about Matthew and the Benjamins, nothing more.

[iggyloob12]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

Don't think for a second Tkachuk's career has not been mapped out to the Nth degree.

Of course it has and now he's on a good team earning top dollar to play a game and he gets to live in the city of his choosing. That's smart and savvy.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

I would take that over Calgary weather any time.

Yeah 1000% no to 70-80% humidity.

Unless sitting in your own pool of sweat is your type of thing.

[browna]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

He's got better handlers, starting with his father, who made all the same mistakes Gaudreau made. Don't think for a second Tkachuk's career has not been mapped out to the Nth degree. Matthew is all about Matthew and the Benjamins, nothing more.

Yup and that's his right as a businessman. But it doesn't make him more noble or whatever one"s thoughts in comparison to Gaudreau.

There was a 10% chance at least, JG even up to the last minutes, could've come back to the Flames. Thus the awkward Columbus introduction, no produced thank you video etc.

There was a 0% chance MT was coming back to Calgary, that was clear in the way he structured the last deal...and in this polished Thank You video. Again, I have no problem with that, it's his right.

[Steve Macfarlane]

I find it really interesting that Tkachuk and Treliving say Matthew's decision to leave was influenced in no way by Gaudreau leaving as a UFA.

If Tkachuk says winning trumps everything with his choice, is Gaudreau's loss not the biggest reason the Flames chances of winning are smaller than last year? (Remember, the Flames didn't have a line on Huberdeau before that decision, and the team still has to place one of its pair of 100-pointers from last year).

https://calgaryhockeynow.com/calgary...-trade-choice/

[iggyloob12]

Originally Posted by Steve Macfarlane

If Tkachuk says winning trumps everything …

https://calgaryhockeynow.com/calgary...-trade-choice/

I think you're reading too much into one quote from Francis' interview and not considering the full context of that statement. To me, it didn't come across as the Panthers offered a better chance to win vs. the Flames, but that the Panthers were the best choice of the teams he was willing to consider signing with.

Based on what he also said about his 3-year bridge being structured in a way that would allow him to re-evaluate his life and career, I think we can infer that leaving Calgary was always the plan. He just doesn't want to admit that publicly.