Johnny Gaudreau is the biggest story of this offseason so far, and the ramifications of his decision to sign in Columbus over Calgary have made big splashes around the hockey world. One of hockey's most intense markets just lost one of the biggest stars in the game right now, and people want answers. Calgary's GM Brad Treliving claims they offered Gaudreau an eight-year deal worth $84 million ($10.5M AAV), which is ultimately $15.4 million on the table, not accounting for taxes.
Gaudreau has been adamant that his decision was a family decision, and in his edition of The Players' Tribune--a publication dedicated giving athletes a clear voice--he expanded on his decision to leave Calgary. After focusing most of his life on hockey & his career, he felt his family took a back seat for too long & needed to be more of a focal point for him.
"My dad's heart attack in 2018 was a big moment for that. It was really so bad and he's lucky to be here today. A very scary situation. And seeing him in that hospital bed it hit me extremely hard. I thought about how little I'd seen my parents since I'd been in the league. These moments and experiences change you as a person."
He also addressed the notion that he only used Calgary's lucrative offer as leverage, essentially calling it hogwash. As he has said before, he maintains that his decision went down to the wire, and he never had any intention of leveraging Calgary's offer for a similar deal elsewhere.
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"For what it's worth, I didn't know for sure what I wanted to do up until the last hours of the last day. Man, even after I turned down the eight-year deal from Calgary, I still thought about going back and trying to work on a seven-year deal to stay. It was all on the table for the entire process. Maybe that seems messy but life is messy, you know?"
You can't really blame a guy for prioritizing his family over hockey. It is worth pointing out, though, that on
Spittin' Chiclets' most recent episode Gaudreau basically said 'I want to be close to my family--but not THAT close.'
Gaudreau's letter to the city of Calgary did seem earnest & genuine, and I do believe the decision was a difficult one for him. And to be honest, wanting to be close-but-not-too-close to one's hometown is super-relatable. The Calgary Flames took a chance on him, and he rewarded that chance with 609 points in 602 NHL games over eight seasons. While he walked to free-agency & offered the Flames no return, Gaudreau gave Calgary the best years of his life & has earned the right to make his decision. It sucks for Calgary, but at least they have a new problem to focus on:
Matthew Tkachuk.
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