Gaudreau showed how good he was last night. Everyone is talking about Johnny about how the Flames need to sign him. I have never heard so many people tweeting "pay the man." The only question is how much.
The true leader of the Flames this season, Johnny is on pace for a career season. Johnny is on pace for 106 points and 35 goals, both career highs. Johnny is on pace for 22 power-play goals, the second-best in his career. How the Flames go depends on how Johnny goes.
Johnny is on pace on career highs in everything except in power-play goals. Upon writing this blog, Johnny leads the Flames in points and assists.
I don't think I have seen Johnny this focused in his career. He is undoubtedly one of the best Flames players ever.
Here is a collection of how good he is.
The biggest obstacle is, of course, the team's salary cap. To make things worse, the cap is not going up significantly in the next three years. Johnny is worth north of 8 million dollars. Both sides know that. Both parties also know the Flames can't go much higher than 8 million. Gaudreau will give in his demands a little more than the Flames. Last I heard, they are about 2 million apart. I expect the Flames to go as high as 8.25 million. Whether Johnny will stay for that is anyone's guess.
Randy
