The inside/out move he put on the defenceman his first day back on the ice was impossible to describe. The reaction from his teammates was easier to relay: they were jacked up.
A loud cheer from skate-clad onlookers punctuated the drill as Johnny Gaudreau finished a magical rush with a goal that energized the group. One day after ending his summer-long contract impasse, Gaudreau joined his Calgary Flames teammates Tuesday, just in time for Wednesday’s season opener in Edmonton.
“At the end of the day I knew I wasn’t going to miss any games,” said Gaudreau, revealing what most knew throughout his contractual game of chicken.
“I know how important it is to be here for my team and for the great city of Calgary and the fans. The way they welcomed me here from Day 1, I don’t think it would have been right to miss any games the way they treated me.”
While an agent might see his loyalty as a weakness during a negotiation, fans see it as the type of thing leaders should do. With his only leverage being the threat of withholding services, Gaudreau’s penchant for returning to Calgary before opening night likely cost him some money.
Despite having no arbitration rights or the ability to field offer sheets, most of the hockey world figured it would take north of $7 million annually for the Flames to sign no. 13 long term.
However, it would be foolish to suggest there were any losers involved in his six-year, $40.5 million contract, averaging the same amount of money Mark Giordano makes annually – $6.75 million.
Yes, he was asking for more than $8 million while the Flames all along offered just over $6.5 million. But it clearly took a face-to-face with Flames GM Brad Treliving and Gaudreau’s family and representatives to make it clear the club wasn’t willing to set a new bar for (extremely) restricted free agents, and their offer wasn’t coming up much.
“It’s a good deal for me and good deal for the team,” said Gaudreau, 23, who had 30 goals en route to being the NHL’s sixth-highest scorer last year. “Obviously it’s a tough spot to put the team in. I know it was definitely a distraction for them and I have to apologize for that. But it’s a business and there’s no hard feelings – they welcomed me back with open arms.”
Clearly, his vision off the ice is as good as it is on it. Tuesday’s practice was a spirited one as Gaudreau took part mere hours after landing in town.
“We went to the power play early and I tried to get him up to speed,” smiled coach Glen Gulutzan who met Gaudreau for the first time and instantly reunited him with centre and pal Sean Monahan. “To be quite honest it was the best our powerplay has looked this season and he’s had one little tour at it. I guess that’s all coaching.”
Cue more laughter on a day when levity ruled at the Dome. A huge weight had been lifted a day earlier and no one felt that relief more than Treliving.
“I got a couple hours sleep last night – that was new,” smiled Treliving, capping a busy and brilliant off-season. “We’ve got a special piece of our team in our dressing room that wasn’t there yesterday. Johnny is excited and the players know what he means to our team. We’re a better team than we were yesterday. So, feeling a lot better.”
He felt even better later in the day when he inked Kris Versteeg – who is fresh off a tryout with the Edmonton Oilers – with an eye on potentially playing him on the top line alongside Gaudreau and Monahan – a spot currently occupied by Michael Ferland.
As for the much tougher contract, Treliving said the point he tried getting across to Gaudreau always revolved around the importance of giving the team flexibility to build around him.
“There are very few players – it’s a short list – of guys who’ve accomplished what he has in his first two years in recent memory – that created lots of discussion,” said Treliving, explaining the wide discrepancy between the offer and the player’s original asking price. “Johnny is set financially but he’s also done it in a way that gives the team flexibility moving forward. And that, to me, shows he wants to be part of a winning team too.”
After a stellar showing at the World Cup, Gaudreau said he’d spent the last few weeks working out with his old junior’ coach’s team and spending precious time with his family.
“Obviously I wish it could have been handled earlier but it’s extremely important to get off to a good start,” said Gaudreau, a fourth rounder many wrote off do to a tiny frame weighing 159 pounds.
“Last year we didn’t get off to the start we wanted and it ended up costing us a playoff spot. I didn’t want to put my team through that with missing a player and being a distraction.”
After weeks of silence Gaudreau said all the right things Tuesday and will now focus on letting his play answer any other questions.
