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Did Johnny Gaudreau LIE to the Calgary Flames?

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Ryan
July 14, 2022 (12:32)

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Yesterday was the start of the free agent Frenzy and the biggest name available in free agency was Johnny Gaudreau, who scored 115 points last season in 82 games.

Gaudreau turned down an 8 year deal valued at over $10 million per season with the Calgary Flames after being with the team for 8 seasons. The Flames drafted Gaudreau 104th overall back in 2011.

The reasoning Gaudreau gave for not resigning with the team that drafted him was it wasn't about money, it was about family. Gaudreau's family lives outside the New Jersey area and he wanted to be closer to them. So for the entire day we were expecting Gaudreau to either sign with the New Jersey Devils or the Philadelphia Flyers.

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«I am not going to speak for Johnny, but I will say he is going to be a dad in the upcoming months and this was a decision for his family that I have to respect».� CenterIceHockey (@CenterIcefb) July 13, 2022

When Gaudreau signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets, it shocked everyone as they are a team that is currently rebuilding and are further away from a stanley cup than the Calgary Flames are for one, and second, Columbus is still over 500 miles away from his family.

So was this really about family, or just wanting to get out of Calgary?

Whatever the reasoning was, it was nice of Calgary to put out this "thank you" post for Gaudreau, and it not turn into a hatred situation like Tavares in New York.

For the last 8 years, it was a pleasure having you in Calgary.

Thank you, Johnny. pic.twitter.com/trbpro1MPd� Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) July 14, 2022