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Flames need to know what Tkachuk thinks about his future |
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Money always talks in professional sports. But athletes don't have to listen.
Johnny Gaudreau left millions of dollars on the table in Calgary to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets. In the end it wasn't about the money, or the caliber of team. It came down to his preference to play in Columbus over Calgary.
The irony of that is Columbus has lost top players (Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Seth Jones) because they didn't want to play in Columbus anymore.
Rehashing all of this is important because the Calgary Flames face this scenario again with Matthew Tkachuk. He is restricted free agent now, but can become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Earlier this week, the Flames filed for arbitration to resolve their contract. When a team files for arbitration, it allows them to continue to negotiate without the possibility of an offer sheet.
The threat of an offer sheet doesn't seem very high in this case. The general read of seeking arbitration is that it is a bad sign for the Flames.
But what really matters as these negotiations progress is simply understanding how willing Tkachuk is to stay in Calgary.
Management's failure in the Gaudreau situation wasn't his decision to leave. You can't legislate a player's feelings. If a UFA wants to leave, you can't stop him. The Flames failure was either not reading how Gaudreau felt about leaving or knowing he was likely leave and not doing what was best for the team.
The Flames would be better off today if they would have traded Gaudreau.
It sure seemed as Gaudreau had one foot out the door. The Flames need candor from Tkachuk and in return they will do what they can to honor his aspirations.
Does he really want to stay in Calgary?
Mutual respect. Sometimes it happens. Several years ago, when UFA Zach Parise left the New Jersey Devils to sign in Minnesota, he dreaded telling GM Lou Lamoriello. But Lou simply wished him well and said he knows that sometimes players just want to go home. Parise is from Minnesota.
The Flames need honesty from Tkachuk. If he tells them he is learning toward leaving next summer, they can promise they will do what they can to trade him a desirable team.
Maybe Matthew Tkachuk doesn't know exactly what he wants to do. Maybe it's not an easy decision. But hopefully he will respect the Flames and at least give them a sense of where his head is at. He's going to get his money whether he stays in Calgary or goes elsewhere.
He wouldn't lose leverage by saying he is leaning toward staying or is likely to leave.
But it is crucial for the Flames to know what he's thinking. And if they aren't sure, they have to error on the side of not allowing him to walk away without some form of compensation. The Flames cannot lose a star for nothing two summers in a row.
It's true that the Flames now have more salary cap room and that is an asset. But salary cap room doesn't score 40 goals.
Blogger •HHOF Writer's column on the NHL • 
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