Tkachuk breaks his silence, speaks on his decision to leave Calgary and how well Treliving handled it all
A few days after being traded to the Florida Panthers and signing an 8-year $76M extension, Matthew Tkachuk spoke with media from his home in St. Louis about his decision to leave Calgary. Tkachuk informed the Flames he wouldn't be signing long-term and worked with GM Brad Treliving to find a trade and get the best possible return for the Flames.
Tkachuk mentioned that he purposely signed a 3-year bridge deal in 2019 so that he could re-evaluate his position, career and his life at the end of it. He had the opportunity to sign a long-term extension at the time, but chose not to for those specific reasons. He told Sportsnet.ca, "I could have taken a longer deal and more money, but I wanted to re-evaluate after a three-year bridge deal, and that's what I did."
He also made it very clear that his decision had nothing to do with Johnny Gaudreau signing in Columbus. He feels the Panthers are closer to winning than the Flames are and that he fits in better with the core of their team age wise.
As much as Flames fans may not like Tkachuk now, you have to admit that he cares about the franchise and at least he went about things the right way in working with Brad Treliving to find the right deal that worked for him and the Flames.
"It was the hardest phone call I've ever had in this sport at any level. Nothing even comes close to rivalling it. It was a very real conversation. Pretty emotional for me, some of the most emotions I've had. And he was too. It was like two friends. We really respect one another," said Tkachuk, of the phone call he had with Treliving informing him of his decision.
Tkachuk wanted to help the keep the Flames competitive and make sure they weren't facing the same situation they did with Gaudreau a few weeks ago, saying "We worked together and it was really seamless. He did an unbelievable job. We worked through it and I think we're both happy with how the results came."
The Tkachuk brothers being in the same division for the next 8 years will create some entertaining moments for fans and, for Bettman's sake, should help boost ticket sales for both teams.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 25 | 109 ANSWERS Tkachuk breaks his silence, speaks on his decision to leave Calgary and how well Treliving handled it all Do you think Matthew Tkachuk handled himself the right way? | ||
| Yes | 48 | 44 % |
| No | 23 | 21.1 % |
| Don't care | 38 | 34.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
