NHL Free Agents Scouting Report and Update: Johnny Gaudreau

If a long-term contract is coming between the Calgary Flames and Johnny Gaudreau, the window is closing. Johnny Gaudreau hits NHL free agency as an unrestricted free agent this Wednesday, and the Flames will lose their lone claim to Johnny Hockey. This is a huge topic of conversation not only because Gaudreau is an all-star caliber forward, but also because he has spent the entirety of his NHL career in Calgary.

Scouting Report

Johnny Gaudreau has been a consistent sparkplug for the Calgary Flames in over 600 games of his NHL career. Despite his smaller size, he has avoided injuries for the most part. He has been a part of the new age of quick, agile playmakers that no longer get held back by the minor leagues.

Gaudreau has scored 210 goals and assisted 399 in his career. This puts his total points above the number of games played with 609. Just from a statistical scoring basis, his career peak looked as if it was back in the 2018-19 season when he was just one shy of 100 points. The pandemic hit and with this past season being the first full season since the rise of Covid-19, Gaudreau hit and exceeded 100 points for the first time in his career.

Here’s what his stat lines have looked like over the years.

Negotiation Update

The thing about the negotiations between the Flames management and Johnny Gaudreau and his agent is we really don’t know much. Read into that what you will, but the publicized feedback from Flames general manager, Brad Treliving has been positive.

At the 2022 draft, Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau were large topics of conversation as possible trading pieces for draft picks. They both need a contract and the Flames did not have a first-round pick this year. It seemed like a logical train of thought.

When questioned by the media about what the status was for the two Flames top-liners, Treliving said,

"“We’ve made long-term proposals to both players. We’ve tried to everything to get them signed. Ultimately… that’s the player’s decision to make. From our end, our only objective is that we want to sign them.”"

On the player side of it, Johnny Gaudreau has been quiet and carrying on with his regular offseason duties. He just joined his teammates last weekend for Sean Monahan’s wedding, so he has not forgotten about his buddies in Calgary by any means. It’s much easier to keep things between the player and management when they are not media-facing like they are for the majority of the year.

A Pivotal Week

While fans of Johnny Gaudreau have felt mostly in the dark this offseason, some clarity should be found this week. Gaudreau has expressed his content for the City of Calgary in the past and his interviews towards the end of the season and postseason run didn’t seem to suggest otherwise.

Johnny will be 29 in August and a long-term contract could really lock up what could be the bulk of his prime as an NHL athlete. It’s not a decision to be taken lightly and either way the future of the Flames is at a roadblock until Johnny decides if he wants to stay or go.