Gaudreau thanks Flames, says he considered staying on 7-year term

Newly signed Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau thanked the Calgary Flames and their fans Wednesday and explained his decision to leave in free agency in a Players' Tribune piece.

Gaudreau rejected the notion that he had made his mind up to leave Calgary prior to free agency and said he considered staying even after the deadline to sign an eight-year extension had passed last week. With proximity to family leading to his decision to sign in Columbus, Gaudreau also disagreed with the idea that seeing family is as simple as "hopping on a plane" for an NHL player.

"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," Gaudreau wrote. "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? 

"And as for “hopping on a plane” and all of that — I’m incredibly grateful to be an NHL player, and to be making the salary that I make. I don’t take it for granted for a second. Which contributes to why money was not the main deciding factor for me. But the idea that Meredith and I can just fly to and from home, or have our loved ones visit no problem, because we have money? It’s not that simple. Our families still work full time. Our siblings have their own lives. Our nieces and nephews are in school. It’s a tough trip for folks to make, and it’s only gotten tougher with the pandemic. And it’s hard for us to get out East as well. It’s things like missing your grandfather’s funeral, or having very sick relatives, that make the distance so painful — and you remember that feeling when planning out your future for your family. "

Gaudreau joined the Blue Jackets on a seven-year, $68.25 million contract after a career year with the Flames, in which he posted 40 goals and 115 points in 82 games.

The 28-year-old, who called leaving "the toughest decision" his family has ever had to make, wrote Wednesday that he had hoped to sign an extension with the Flames during the 2021 off-season.

"And this is the truth, I promise: I cherished the time I spent in Calgary," he wrote. "For a long time, Meredith and I saw our future there. We wanted to re-sign last summer. We were looking at homes to start a family. But it just didn’t work out and we thought this summer might be different.

"But that doesn’t change the way I feel right now. I’m so proud to have been on this team, and to have represented this city. And these last few weeks … I’ve been struggling every time I think about that. All of the relationships we’ve built here, all the amazing friendships we have — I could feel those in my chest every time I thought about leaving."

Selected by the Flames in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Draft, Gaudreau had spent his entire career in Calgary prior to leaving in free agency. He has 210 goals and 609 points in 602 career games.