The NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement provides that on July 13, Johnny Gaudreau will become an unrestricted free agent unless he is re-signed by Calgary before that date. And as you know, Johnny is and has been one of our best players, if not the best, since he joined the Flames in 2014.
Johnny may decide not to re-sign in Calgary. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try to persuade him to do so. Flames GM Brad Treliving will do his part, and now it’s our turn.
The challenge -- if you choose to accept it -- is to fill this thread with as many positive Johnny Hockey memories as we can from his time with the Flames. Photos, stories, personal memories and anecdotes, whatever you got. Let’s manifest enough positive Johnny vibes that he knows no other fans will support him and his family like we will here in Calgary
Besides, the NHL season just ended. What else are you going to do for the next two weeks?
I’ll start:
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9 years ago, I was hanging out with my co-worker when she told me she met the latest new Calgary Flame. She was leaving a doctors office and almost bowled over the guy because he was so small she didn't even see him in the doorway when she opened the door. She thought he was a kid at first. He was impressed that she knew who he was.
Vorachek had a great move in Johnny's first All-Star game, after a previous player picked up a timbit age hockey player and used him to score the goal.
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My friend was a chef for the CSEC and would often make meals for the players and the staff. The meals the players ate werent too interesting as its mostly healthy stuff like grilled chicken breasts and steamed vegetables however Execs loved their red meat and potatoes. I brought up how Johnny loves his skittles and how his dad taught him how to skate by placing skittles on the ice. So the next day when he made meals for the team, Johnny came to get his usual boring meal tray, my friend snuck a packet of skittles and hid it under the rim of the plate. Johnny watched this happened and his eyes widened and looked up at him. My friend just gave him a subtle "yes, its yours but dont tell nobody" nod
Flames proceeded to lose the game that night
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I still remember one of his first pre-season games against Colorado that was televised. Wrist shot top corner from the ringette line it seemed. Absolute snipe.
Regardless of what happens in the next few weeks I feel it's been a pleasure to be able to watch Johnny play for my team. Whatever team he goes to will be my new 2nd favorite team which is safe to say seeing he's not going to play on another Canadian team.
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Even if Johnny chooses to go elsewhere I'll hold no ill will towards him. He's been way way better than I ever dreamed he would be. Such a treat to watch these last 8 years or so. Some of these highlights are just insane.
I've told this story a few times on here, but I will again.
When the Flames drafted Gaudreau I was super intrigued. How could this 14 year old be an NHL player? I started watching him during his first year at BC and was blown away. He was doing things I've never seen hockey players do before. I was very excited for him to join the team, especially since a lot of fans didn't know much about him.
At Gaudreau's first real Flames camp, a kid standing beside me with his dad had won an autographed puck by #53 Johnny Gaudreau. The kid was excited, but didn't know who he was and asked his dad. His dad just sort of shrugged so I chimed in, "You're gonna want to hold onto that puck kid." Almost immediately, Gaudreau burnt a dman and ripped it top crossbar. I turned and nodded a wink at the kid.
I like to think that kid is a big Gaudreau fan today.
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I'm not even going to attempt to decipher this wireframe abstract art project. But I'm going to go out on a limb and guess the blue line that shoots way up above everyone else is none other than Gaudreau.
After he joined, I was at the Dome for one of his early games, before people were really certain how his game would translate to the NHL. I think it was against Nashville. On one play, he had the puck near the middle of ice, skating towards Nashville's heavily defended blueline. And he just skated towards the net, in almost a straight line, without being touched, through a combination of deception and audacity. One moment he was by himself facing a blueline wall, the next, the wall was behind him. That one play killed any doubt I might've harbored, and from the sounds the crowd made, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who suddenly knew we had a great player.
#JohnnyCowtown
