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Johnny Gaudreau may be feeling torn.
Though he’s surely happy about cashing in this summer as one of the NHL’s top free agents, there’s little doubt he and his Calgary Flames teammates expected a few more playoff games.
The top-seeded Flames were bounced in the Pacific Division final by the provincial rival Edmonton Oilers, leaving the team to wonder what could have been and Gaudreau to ponder what he’ll do once the six-year, $40.5 million deal he signed in 2016 runs out at the end of June.
The 28-year-old New Jersey native picked the absolute best time to have his best season, an 82-game run in which he recorded career highs in goals (40) and assists (75), finished tied for second in leaguewide scoring and helped Calgary finish with the second-highest point total in its history.
He’ll certainly earn elite money no matter where he winds up—whether he prioritizes Stanley Cup contention, a return to his roots or the biggest truckload of cash.
The B/R hockey team considered those options while compiling the best destinations for Gaudreau, looking at salary-cap room and prospects for winning alongside other factors that could come into play.
Scroll through to see what we came up with, and share your opinions in the comments.
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OK, Flames fans.
Relax and take a deep breath.
There’s no reason to expect Gaudreau to skip town.
General manager Brad Treliving has said he’ll “move heaven and earth” to make sure his prolific winger stays put, and Calgary can offer an additional year of term—eight contract years—than suitors beyond the 403 area code can extend.
He’s competed there. He’s established there. He’s had success there.
That matters a lot to a lot of players.
It gets a little stickier, though, when you remember that Treliving has also to secure restricted free agent Matthew Tkachuk this offseason, and some money has to be left over to pay or replace seven other unrestricted free agents besides Gaudreau.
“You live in a cap world where you’ve got 23 mouths to feed,” Treliving said. “You treat everybody fairly, but not everybody gets treated the same. Or they’d all make the same. It’s a puzzle.”
Will “Johnny Hockey” will be satisfied to simply be Calgary’s biggest piece?
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Home state: Good. Loads of cap room: Good.
Fifth from the bottom in the league standings: Bad.
As we suggested, whether Gaudreau crosses the continent to assume residence near Newark, New Jersey, may boil down to his priorities.
The New Jersey Devils have more than $25 million in cap space and less meaningful spots to fill than the Flames do, so it’s no stretch to suggest New Jersey could offer the most lucrative package.
GM Tom Fitzgerald opened the vault last offseason to get Dougie Hamilton to leave a Cup contender in the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Devils have young talent in Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier with whom Gaudreau could meld and create a dynamic offensive unit. Still, even with him, neither a postseason berth nor a Cup run would likely be in the imminent future.
So if it’s cash and a change of scenery he wants, the Devils have reason for optimism.
If not, Gaudreau will wind up elsewhere.
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Somewhere between contention and oblivion lie the New York Islanders.
Newly moved-in tenants at UBS Arena, the Islanders had an irrelevant 2021-22 season after two straight appearances in the league’s final four before losses to the eventual champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
So the idea that they can return to prominence next season, particularly with an offensive weapon the caliber of Gaudreau, is surely within reason.
The team’s 229 goals were 10th from the bottom of the 32-team league, which illustrates the degree to which it could use a player with his track record. New York’s cap space of just more than $12 million could be an issue, but GM Lou Lamoriello isn’t shy about making splashy moves.
If Gaudreau is indeed playing on Long Island come October, repeated irrelevance isn’t likely.
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It’s tough to fight the whole hometown thing.
Particularly when the team nearest that hometown was a kid’s favorite.
Gaudreau’s native Salem is 40 minutes outside of Philadelphia, and he grew up a Philadelphia Flyers fan. He was disappointed when they were beat by the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final in 2010.
The Flyers passed on him twice in the draft a year later, picking Sean Couturier at No. 8 and Nick Cousins at No. 68 before the Flames selected Gaudreau at No. 104. But there aren’t any hard feelings. In fact, Gaudreau indicated at least a passing interest in Philadelphia in 2017.
“All my good friends and kids who I have played with all my life are from South Jersey,” he told SportsRadio 94 WIP, “so it would be sweet to play here someday.
“You never know in sports. It’s a lot of support back here in South Jersey and the Philly area; they follow me pretty well.”
To put it bluntly, the team could certainly use him.
The Flyers were just three spots out of the NHL’s basement in 2021-22, enduring prolonged losing streaks and a coaching change on the way to a second straight season with no playoffs. They’re not exactly flush with available cash ($5.1 million), though, so it’d take some maneuvering—or a hometown discount—to ensure Gaudreau starts 2022-23 in the Orange and Black.
Cross your fingers, cheesesteak lovers.
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And here, we present the conditionals.
Neither the Boston Bruins nor Washington Capitals should be considered front-runners to land Gaudreau, but if the fates of particular players in their locker rooms go a certain way, that could change.
The Bruins have employed forward Patrice Bergeron since the 2003-04 season, and he’s rewarded them with more than 1,200 games, exactly 400 goals and a Stanley Cup championship. But he is 36 and will be an unrestricted free agent—and it’s no longer clear that Boston is willing to pay top dollar for him.
With Washington, the 34-year-old Nicklas Backstrom has a chronic hip injury that could put his future in question. On Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts: The Podcast (via Ian Oland of Russian Machine Never Breaks), Elliotte Friedman said Backstrom’s uncertainty about his status for next season “surprised a lot of people.”
He’s set to make $9.2 million per season through 2024-25, but if that salary were to come off the books, Gaudreau could be a quality replacement. GM Brian MacLellan isn’t afraid to make a big move, and the addition of a player of Gaudreau’s caliber would extend the Caps’ contention window.
Should Bergeron leave Boston or Backstrom need a long-term absence, the field of suitors will grow.
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