Gilbertson: Gaudreau offers little explanation for leaving Calgary yyc NHL CalgaryFlames
“That’s something that I was not going to talk about today. I wanted to focus on Columbus and then I was going to get to that after,” Gaudreau told reporters at Thursday’s introductory press conference at Nationwide Arena, now his hockey home through the end of the 2028-29 campaign. “But Calgary was a special place for me. I was part of their organization for 12 years, and I loved every second I was there. But for me, I think it was just time for me to make a little bit of a change.
For his loved ones, Columbus is about an eight-hour drive. Still a lot closer than Calgary, but hardly a one-cup-of-coffee commute. Grinning ear-to-ear, the 28-year-old insisted that Blue Jackets rookie Kent Johnson didn’t have to give up No. 13 — he did — and cracked that he has a game plan to get accustomed to the cannon at Nationwide Arena, to “maybe sit in the arena for 5-10 minutes one day and just let it blast off as much as it can to get ready for it.”Article content
Why leave all that cash on the table? The Flames’ final offer was believed to be an eight-year contract worth $84 million. Over the next seven seasons in Columbus, he’ll pocket a grand total of US$68.25 million.
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