On Thursday, the Columbus Blue Jackets revealed their latest big signing: Calgary Flames star Johnny Gaudreau, who on Wednesday left the organization in free agency and signed a seven-year pact with the Blue Jackets.
The press conference focused on Gaudreau’s bright future for Columbus, and the extreme explanations of why he left the Flames were quite low in detail.
At the beginning of the press, Gaudreau was basically asked “Why Columbus?”:
Announcement – Continue reading below
My wife and I thought it was very good for us. We looked at a few other options, but thought this was the best for us, where we are in our lives, and it made more sense.
Gaudreau was later asked what he would say to the people of Calgary. He began by noting that he was trying to focus on his enthusiasm for being in Columbus, but he did express affection for Calgary.
Calgary was a special place for me. I was part of his organization for 12 years and I loved every second he was there. But for me, I think it was time to make some change, I think. I will leave it that way. But, you know, it was a special place for me. I loved it there. The fans were great for me.
(Editor’s note: Gaudreau was in the Flames organization for 11 years, from 2011 to 2022.)
Gaudreau was later asked to explain his reasons for leaving and why it took so long to make the decision:
It was a tough decision. I mean, it probably went down until 11pm before the free agency where I decided I wouldn’t go back. It was a very difficult decision, but one thing Meredith and I talked about for a long time there. It was difficult, but it was the best for us, and we were very excited to be able to sign Columbus here.
(Editor’s note: Frank Seravalli’s tweet indicating that Gaudreau had made his decision to leave was posted at 6:18 pm MT, or 20:18 pm ET, but it is true that this is a problem for our part.)
Announcement – Continue reading below
Gaudreau asked again why it was time to change:
Like I said, it was a tough decision. Calgary was a great place for me and my wife. But talking to my family, talking to Meredith, like I said, was the right step for us. And that’s all I can really tell you.
Gaudreau was also asked about his perception that he wanted to play closer to home, and the idea that Columbus was not particularly close to home for him, and generally about moving further east from where he was. :
Like I said, I always wanted to play a little closer … I grew up here. Not in Columbus, but on the east coast, and it’s a place I’ve always wanted to play. I was in Calgary for 8-12 years there, from when I was selected until I started playing, and I always dreamed of playing a little closer to home. it didn’t matter where he was signing. our decision was that the best thing for us was not to go back to Calgary, and then we decided to find out what the best option was for us.
Gaudreau gave some answers, but (as is his right) refused to really dive into details about his departure from Calgary.
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