No. 1: Johnny Gaudreau decides the Calgary Flames are his best option.
Head coach Darryl Sutter came back to Calgary because he had unfinished business. Does Johnny Gaudreau feel the same way?
Flames fans sure hope so.
Calgary drafted Johnny Hockey 104th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. This was a fairly stacked draft which included the likes of Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog and Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau.
From the Flames’ draft picks in 2011, only Gaudreau remains. This should be a telling fact. He did enough with his time in Calgary to cement himself as a mainstay. 103 players went before him and many teams are regretting their decision not to draft him.
Gaudreau’s choice of re-signing with the Flames could depend on a few factors. First and foremost, his family. It was recently revealed his wife is expecting a baby. Could they decide they want to be closer to the family permanently? Calgary got a lot of the Gaudreau’s during the playoff run, and it’s safe to say the C of Red would do anything for them. Gaudreau did admit his neighbours shovelled his sidewalk during the winter. Could they offer free babysitting as well?
If they decide they want to stick around and grow their family in Southern Alberta, another factor would come down to who else is going to stay. Linemate Elis Lindholm is locked down until the end of 2023-24. But forward Matthew Tkachuk is a Restricted Free Agent. If he doesn’t sign an extension with the Flames, does this influence Gaudreau’s decision? The two have grown up together in Calgary. Their decisions could determine each other’s destinations.
As previously mentioned, there’s unfinished business. They made it to the second round of the playoffs. They had one of the best years in franchise history. Gaudreau had a career season. The Flames have a solid goaltender in Jacob Markstrom. Their defence is also solid with Chris Tanev signed for a few more seasons.
Darryl Sutter has been the only coach so far to get the best from Gaudreau. Does he recognize this and decide to stick around to try and get better? They were a few goals away from turning the series around with Edmonton to advance. The potential to do it again should be on his mind.
Honourable mention
With wanting to play at home, the New Jersey Devils come into play. New Jersey is where Gaudreau was born and raised. They have a decent core with a few Flames connections. However, they finished just ahead of the Flyers.
Winamac Hockey discusses Gaudreau heading home here.
Playoff contention could be something Gaudreau takes into consideration when he makes up his mind.
Wherever he decides to play, the team will get one heck of a player. Let’s just hope he sticks around a few more seasons.