Matthew Tkachuk on his way out of Calgary?
Despite their excellent season, the Calgary Flames could be unrecognizable next year. As we know, star forward Johnny Gaudreau will be one of the most coveted uncompensated free agents this summer, but also three important elements of the team will become restricted free agents: Andrew Mangiapane, Oliver Kylington and a certain Matthew Tkachuk.
Despite this, the Flames have some leeway in terms of payroll as team GM Brad Treliving has just under $27 million available to retain the services of some of them.
However, if Johnny Gaudreau were to stay in Alberta and get a new contract with the Flames, it could spell the end for Matthew Tkachuk.
As Raphaël Simard of Danslescoulisses.com reports, journalist Hailey Salvian recently wrote an article, on The Athletic, where she mentioned that the Flames could consider trading Tkachuk if they feel uncertainty about his desire to remain in Calgary or if they are unable to reach a long-term agreement with him.
Tkachuk is coming off a career-best season with 42 goals and 104 points in 82 games as he completed the final year of a three-year contract worth $21 million.
Salvian notes, however, that the Flames will have to be cautious if they decide to trade Tkachuk and also believes that the Flames should let Johnny Gaudreau go if his camp demand exceeds $10.5 million per year for an eight-year contract, as his contract will likely set the team standard for Tkachuk this summer.
This will definitely be a case to watch closely, but put yourself in the shoes of Flames fans if Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk were to leave the team this summer.
Let's just say that it would be a tough pill to swallow for some hockey fans in Alberta and it will be difficult for the Flames to be among the Western powers next season.
| POLL | ||
Hypothetically, If you had to choose one to bring to MTL, who would it be? | ||
| Johnny Hockey | 256 | 28.7 % |
| Matthew Tkachuk | 637 | 71.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
