The The Calgary Flame lost top scorer Johnny Gaudreau in the free agent last week and the team’s second-leading scorer Matthew Tkachuk could be following him out the door.
In Monday, the flame is announced that they had applied to a club-elected salary arbitration with Tkachuk in the hope of a contractual settlement. According to Sportsnet’s Eric Francis, that decision may have been made with the sole purpose of giving the team time to negotiate a purchase.
On Monday, Pope Francis wrote that Tkachuk was leaving Calgary “a lot of things appear on the brink” going on.
Last week, the flame announced a qualified offer has been extended to Tkachuk, will be a year, 9 million dollars for wingers. Calgary’s decision to submit to arbitration hint that Tkachuk is willing to sign coupon sheet, making itself eligible to become a free agent in 2023, and is of little value to Flames as a commercial property.
Tkachuk, 24, was the sixth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft and made his Flames debut later that year at the age of 18. After averaging 55.6 points per season during his first five years in the NHL, Tkachuk has developed his gameplay significantly. in the 2021-22 season with 42 goals and 62 assists.
Gaudreau and Tkachuk became the first Flames teammate in over 30 years to finish a season with over 100 points each.
