REPORT: Johnny Gaudreau's former teammate expected him to bail on the Calgary Flames
One of the most unexpected things this offseason was Johnny Gaudreau leaving the Calgary Flames and joining the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Flames have finally become a cup contender during the Gaudreau era, and after having the best season of his career, he chose to leave the Flames, leaving a lot of money on the table, and joining the Columbus Blue Jackets who are arguably much further behind the Flames in terms of chances of winning the Stanley Cup.
It was reported that the reason Gaudreau left the team that drafted him was for a chance to play closer to home back in the U.S. It was a decision for his family, and if this was the true reason, then we respect it.
It may have caught all of us off guard, but apparently one of Gaudreau's former teammates claimed he expected it all along.
Flames forward Mikael Backlund went on Sportsnet 960 and stated:
I saw it coming a little bit with Johnny, had a feeling it could happen that he was gonna walk, even though he said he wanted to come back. Over the years you felt that he missed playing in the us so I had a feeling he could go.
#Flames F Mikael Backlund w/ @Fan960Steinberg:
"I saw it coming a little bit with Johnny, had a feeling it could happen that he was gonna walk, even though he said he wanted to come back. Over the years you felt that he missed playing in the us so I had a feeling he could go"� Logan Gordon (@Fan960Logan) September 14, 2022
It was tough for Flames fans to see them lose both Tkachuk and Gaudreau this offseason, but they managed to bring in Jonathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Weegar and cup champion Nazem Kadri, so you could argue the Flames are actually better this season.
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