I can’t believe this was a talking point around the NHL for a while. With the resigning (or really just new signing), of newly acquired Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar’s reported willingness to resign, the pair have just silenced the rumors that players don’t want to play in Calgary.
This was just a bad take from so many “NHL” fans on twitter and NHL pundits around North America. Why would Canadian players in the NHL (who make up 43.2% of the player demographics) not want to play in a Canadian market? There are only seven available markets to go to anyway. Why immediately rule out Calgary?
Sure, some players may not want to play in Calgary as they don’t want to face the pressures of an NHL Canadian team’s fandom, or the spotlight the Canadian media would place on them. Or maybe they just don’t like the cold winters of Alberta.
But that can only be 10% of the NHL. Maybe even fewer.
Players of professional quality, generally, want the pressure and the spotlight on them. That is what fuels them.
“What about Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk? They were Flames for years and left the first moment their contracts ran out,” someone might point out. And I would say that is an irrelevant fact.
Johnny Gaudreau, born and raised in New Jersey, wanted to return back to the US after spending nine years in Calgary. He was more than in his right to want a new challenge when he declined the Flames $10M/season extensions and signed in Columbus.
As for Matthew Tkachuk, I’m sure there was something else brewing behind the scenes that drove him out of Alberta to Florida.
I think we will find out as the years go by that someone in an executive position in the Flames organization (ex: GM Brad Treliving, HC: Darryl Sutter, Owners: Allen Markin, Murray Edwards, etc.) was involved in an irreconcilable rift with Tkachuk that resulted in the forward being sent to the Panthers.
Nevertheless, with Jonathan Huberdeau signing a 7-year, $10.5M deal a few days ago and MacKenzie (yes, that is how his first name is spelt) Weegar eagerly looking to sign a long-term deal, Flames fans should be happy that the myth of “nobody wants to play in Calgary” is broken.
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