Seravalli: Johnny Gaudreau informed the Flames he will not be returning

[Jozay]

Hope he goes to NJ

 

[Devonator]

Sask has some nice lakes and if you’ve ever been out to a farm with all the crops in full bloom in the summer it’s gorgeous in its own way.

The stars are incredible on the prairies at night, they don’t call it the land of the living skies for no reason.

The Rockies on the Alberta/BC border area is unbeatable though, it never ceases to be jaw dropping everytime. I just start smiling on the drive out when we head out there, winter or summer. You’re in an entirely different world less than an hour from the city.

I love Western Canada. As far as the cold winters, I sincerely love the cold. You don’t need to force us to go outside in -20 degrees in the winter, we do that willingly and enjoy it for the most part.

Some people not from Western Canada might find it strange, but the rugged majestic beauty of the landscape out here makes it a special place.

I own a farm in Sask near Kindersley....great land for farming but not much to look at...but yes I am generalizing....Sask does have some nice parts......and of course Alberta has Jasper and Banff and much else....but B.C. is my fav by far....driven through there hundreds of times....stunning....and I do agree...I prefer cold weather to hot....I could never live in a hot nation....I do love our climate here in the West.....give me snow anyday...

 

[Rafafouille]

I don’t for the life of me understand why this was allowed to get this far.

Allegedly, the Devils tried to get Tkachuk with the #2 pick.

How do you not hang up that call, get Gaudreau’s agent on the phone, make your final offer, and say “yes or no”?

If Gaudreau says no, you pull the trigger and end up with Wright or Slafkovsky. You trade Gaudreau’s rights to the Devils for a 3rd or whatever. Maybe even do a sign and trade and get an actual prospect back.

Instead, you have no top-2 pick, and you’re staring down the barrel of the exact same situation you just went through with an inferior player who you most assuredly will never be able to trade for a top-2 pick again.


Garbage GMing.

Gaudreau’s not blameless here either - tell them you’re not coming back in your exit interview.

This town and this team treated you like royalty. They treated your family like royalty. From the moment you got here.

Nobody said you had to stay, but you knew three months ago what you were doing. You owed them the courtesy of allowing them to make moves in the best interest of the franchise.

Thanks for the memories. Now f*** off.

I say this as a guy who's team drafted Slaf. If all you get for arguably the best power forward in the NHL is Slafkovsky or Wright(On paper the worst top 2 prospects since probably the 2012 draft) you deserve to be fired. That's nowhere near enough.

 

[HarrySPlinkett]

If Nemec busts I'm going to hate your stupid GM more than Fitz for not taking that deal lmao

He’s such a muppet. Cannot be gone soon enough.

 

[Melrose Munch]

A lot of Canadian hockey players are more than happy to get out of the spotlight. A lot of American hockey players are eager to get on the first plane home.

If California, New York, and Florida were able to outbid everybody with no cap on top of those things nobody else would ever win a cup.

No one else is winning a cup now though. This isn't working at all. Next year is 30 years. What's the point if there's no way for them to win. They changed the whole structure of the league and still nothing.

 

[PromisedLand]

what was the reason he declined to not re-sign? if money was not the reason?

 

[OttawaSenators11]

Sorry Calgary fans! Shitty when a player doesn't love you back.

 

[centipede2233]

what was the reason he declined to not re-sign? if money was not the reason?

His girl is from jersey, he’s also from jersey…this is taveras v.2

 

[New User Name]

what was the reason he declined to not re-sign? if money was not the reason?

Three letters. USA

 

[syz]

No one else is winning a cup now though. This isn't working at all. Next year is 30 years. What's the point if there's no way for them to win. They changed the whole structure of the league and still nothing.

They're not winning now because they're all run by clowns and they're also on every player's no trade list along with like, Buffalo.

 

[BudBundy]

Oh please, like I said it's a nice place to visit and if you are from there and love it good for you but for the other 99% it's cow country. Yes, it's pretty, and not too long ago before the oil and gas money flooded in Calgary, as most of Canada was on its knees. Its money was near worthless and there was no opportunity. Most of the people that lived there were poor. It's poverty with a view for quite a few of those poor souls. No one wants to sign long-term there. Back to the drawing board, you go. Enjoy the lower basement of the NHL standings for 10 more years and with the new draft rules don't expect back to back to back lottery picks.

Poverty with a view? Seriously? When I told you to stay ignorant, I didn’t mean you had to revel in it.

 

[iCanada]

Johnny is just like Jarome Iginla, they just don't have that winners vibe and are not good under pressure.

Sure Calgary won't have great regular seasons anymore but they weren't winning with him anyway

Iginla does not deserve this character assassination.

 

[Melrose Munch]

They're not winning now because they're all run by clowns and they're also on every player's no trade list along with like, Buffalo.

Just feels ridiculous.

The last of bach elite players were all signed by Toronto or Vancouver and those come few and far between. It's awful.

 

[iCanada]

I think the Flyers have about 3.5 mil in space with 5 empty roster spots.
What are the rules for summer overages? Can they sign Gaudreau and figure it out later? They have to trade JVR at the very least and maybe more... then sign additional players...

Iirc you can go over by 10% in summer.

 

[HarrySPlinkett]

I say this as a guy who's team drafted Slaf. If all you get for arguably the best power forward in the NHL is Slafkovsky or Wright(On paper the worst top 2 prospects since probably the 2012 draft) you deserve to be fired. That's nowhere near enough.

Maybe not, but what can you get for Tkachuk now?

All he needs to do is accept his $9M qualifying offer and he walks himself to free agency. And knowing this group of fools running the team, they’ll go all in for “one last chance to win with Tkachuk” like he’s Jarome Iginla or something.

He’s not. He’s been here six years. He’s helped you win one playoff round. He doesn’t want to be here any more than Gaudreau did.

At worst, Wright looks like a strong #2C.

At worst, Slafkovsky can score from anywhere on the ice with that ICBM of a shot.

Any competent GM would’ve had a hard deadline on Gaudreau 30 minutes ahead of the draft. Not 4 hours before you could no longer offer him 8 years and $84M.

That’s like waiting for a girl to call you on her wedding day.

It’s so, so, so, so, SO stupid.

And just so Classic Treliving. Hey, are you gonna lose Brodie, Gio, Hamonic and Gaudreau for a combined 0 assets?

Goddamn right you are.

Are you going to fail to close big time deals for Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, and now your own franchise player Johnny Gaudreau in humiliating fashion?

There was never a doubt.

Are you going to make the same mistake with Matthew Tkachuk?

Most assuredly.

Are you going to muff an Elias Lindholm trade?

Of course - why would you trade a Selke-nominated centre with 2 years left at $4.8M when you could let him walk for nothing in 24 months after a heroic 9th place finish?

Brad Try-Hard Treliving, everyone.

 

[Fight4yourRight]

Uh no....I wouldn't call Sask all that nice....and parts of Alberta are dismal......British Columbia though is our nicest province for sure....

That’s your opinion. There’s plenty of nice parts in the lakes and forests of the north.

 

[New User Name]

American players don't mind living near their parents and families.

Canadian players prefer to be a plane ride away. LOL

 

[TheRumble]

A lot of Canadian hockey players are more than happy to get out of the spotlight. A lot of American hockey players are eager to get on the first plane home.

If California, New York, and Florida were able to outbid everybody with no cap on top of those things nobody else would ever win a cup.

Lol no.

The Rangers got Adam Fox and Panarin

The Kings have never really big huge free agent players.

Florida? Really?

The advantage is really being exaggerated here. PLD reportedly wants out of Winnipeg for Montreal and Tavares signed with Toronto.

This is what happened:

Gaudreau married a woman from New Jersey, she works in America. He wants to be closer to his loved ones and is willing to sacrifice some money and likely his best chance at winning a Cup to do so. It happens. Players do not owe their teams servitude just because they got drafted there.

For Calgary fans: This sucks but it should give the front office a clearer idea of where to go next. I never really could take to the idea of a team being led by Johnny Gaudreau as the best skater to be a real Cup contender. I think building a team around a winger is probably the most difficult team building strategy to win with. Not saying it's impossible but it's harder than building from the blue line or down the middle. With Gaudreau gone, Calgary doesn't have to do that anymore. Also a bold prediction, Gaudreau never scores 90 points for the remainder of his career.

For the people saying Calgary should have traded him: They're coming off a 111 point season, they had every reason to believe they could have gone all the way this year. Imagine a 110+ point team deciding that they weren't good enough at the trade deadline and blowing it up there. Sometimes you go with what you got and make the best of a precarious situation and you fail. That is sport. It's like y'all don't watch any other sports. Player movement is a thing.

 

[viper0220]

Ugh 16 hrs until Treliving does something stupid

I am scared of what Bad Trevling will do.

Contract year. I would be shocked if Gaudreau put up 115 pts again next year playing in NJ or Philly. I don't even think he hits 100pts.

In New Jersey with Hughes and Hischier, he easily reaches 100 points.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Not sure if anyone's posted this but probably knocks out the Islanders.

"Gaudreau’s agent told Elliotte Friedman it was indeed a family decision, which gives all the more credence to the long-held belief he’ll soon sign somewhere near the Jersey shores where he grew up."

As Gaudreau makes emotional departure, Flames look to avoid knee-jerk response

Devils or Flyers it looks like, fitting their first game is versus each other this season.

 

[ohuhu7]

This either turns out to be a blessing in disguise for the Flames, or Johnny puts up another three seasons like his last and Flames fans wonder how close they were to a cup.

 

[karhukissa]

Yes, it's Treliving's fault Gaudreau's wife got knocked up and he wants to be closer to home.

What a ridiculous comment.

Sounds more like Johnny's fault.

 

[The Expert]

Oh Jasper. Thought you were talking about Lake Louise which is actually the one we hear more about from over there.

Actually the opposite, if you want to go to scenic parks, there's a lot less traffic going that way from Toronto. Like Niagra Falls/Niagra Glen Park/Tobermory/Algonquin Park is closer to Toronto than any of these to EDM/Calgary. It's driving into the city where there's traffic.

But I mean the population speaks. The vast majority of the people and businesses pick Toronto/Vancouver over Edmonton/Calgary.

Lake Louise isn't 45 minutes from Calgary or Edmonton. The rest of your post is drivel, as usual.

At the end of the day it's still Western Canada, it's farm land and frozen tundra.

Says the guy who doesn't even own a passport.

 

[Lunatik]

Exactly, yo never heard a high-priced free agent say he signed with Calgary because he wanted the Western Canada experience. Not like when they sign with NY, or Montreal, or even Toronto.

In baseball the reigning Cy Young winner Robbie Ray signed with Seattle for the outdoors life nearby.

 

[Kranix]