Calgary Flames F Johnny Gaudreau Ends Holdout by Signing a 6-Year Contract Worth $40.5 Million Dollars ($6.75 Million/Year). Now, It’s Time for the Flames to Focus on Making a Return to Postseason Action
Calgary Flames F Johnny Gaudreau can start focusing on hockey again. After all, his nickname is “Johnny Hockey”. After a lengthy ordeal, it seems both sides have come to an agreement on a new six-year deal for the 23-year-old left winger. He will earn $6.75 million/year on average for a total $40.5 million dollars.
Gaudreau made the announcement via his twitter account, with Elliotte Friedman later reporting the estimated figures. His AAV (average annual value) is only $400,000 dollars less than fellow linemate Sean Monahan who signed earlier in the summer for seven years at $6.35 million/year.
The Nickname, “Johnny Hockey”
Did you ever wonder where the name Johnny Hockey came from? In an interview with Gaudreau at the World Cup of Hockey, he revealed that the name was actually given to him around the time Johnny “Football” Manziel was making headlines. It essentially became a spin-off of the Heisman Trophy winner’s nickname. Who would have imagined that Gaudreau would be the one experiencing all the success?
Career/Resume
Calgary Flames F Johnny Gaudreau was selected 104th overall (4th round) back in 2011 as a tiny USHL player committed to Boston College. Three years later, Johnny Hockey was claiming Hobey Baker Award honors after a stellar 80-point season in 2013-14.
He joined the Flames full-time in 2014-15 and racked up 64 points in his rookie season. Those numbers improved to 30 goals (78 points) in 2015-16, which is precisely why this little contract squabble ever began. Teams are reluctant to hand high-end dollars to players with only two years of experience – regardless of how much success they’ve had. Such is the case the Gaudreau.
U20 World Juniors Gold Medal – Team USA (2012-13)
Hobey Baker Award Finalist (2012-13)
NCAA (Hockey East) Player of the Year (2013-14)
Hobey Baker Award Winner (2013-14)
NHL All-Rookie Team (2014-15)
NHL All-Star Game (2014-15)
NHL Rookie of the Month – December, March (2014-15)
NHL All-Star Game (2015-16)
Reaction/Opinion
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Calgary Flames F Johnny Gaudreau’s likely options were to accept a short 2-3 year bridge deal at a reduced rate or take a little less to have the comfort of a lengthy six-year contract. Clearly, he believed the latter stood to be the better option.
Considering the cap hit came in under $7 million dollars and only $400,000 dollars less than Sean Monahan, one can only assume this contract is loaded with performance bonuses. At least by signing a six-year deal opposed to the max eight or even seven years like Monahan, it ensures that Gaudreau is still in his prime at 29-years-old once the contract expires.
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Perhaps the thinking or mindset here is that if he’s not getting big dollars or near max money right now, he mid as well hold off for as long as possible allowing annual average salaries to continually grow. In six years from now, Calgary can decide whether they want to pay that premium. By then, we could be talking about superstars earning upwards of $13-15 million/year.