Johnny Gaudreau Likely to At Least Test NHL Free Agent Market

Regarding any report that Johnny Gaudreau and the Calgary Flames have recently agreed to a long-term deal, his agent said of that report: “There is no truth to it.” As such, the Flames and Gaudreau are where there were weeks ago, talking, but with no deal on the horizon.

Related: Could the Maple Leafs’ Matthew Knies Be the Next Zach Hyman?

TSN’s Darren Dreger was on The Instigators show this week and said the Calgary Flames and pending UFA Johnny Gaudreau have been talking about an extension, going back and forth, but that no deal is close. Dreger says there isn’t much in the way of an update and that things are now at the stage where the Flames intend to be patient because they don’t have much choice. The best they can do is make their offer and hope it’s enough for Gaudreau to accept it prior to July 13. It might not be enough as Dreger, among other NHL insiders said they wouldn’t be surprised if Gaudreau tested the free-agent market.

The Free Agent doors open in 23 days and 2 major players everyone's waiting for are #Flames star Johnny Gaudreau and #Preds sniper Filip Forsberg.

In today's @UpperDeckSports Spotlight, @irfgaffar & I discuss the status of both of these players and where talks are at this point. pic.twitter.com/wOBrHbVjEj

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) June 20, 2022

Dreger isn’t the only one to think this as other reports have come in that Gaudreau would like to at least see what his value is out there. Pierre LeBrun of TSN says this really isn’t about the money. As soon as the season ended the Flames made Gaudreau a lucrative offer and will likely match or beat most offers out there. LeBrun says instead, this is about what kind of fit Gaudreau sees as potentially a better one for him. The thought is that he might want to go back out east.

Expect Clarity on This In the Coming Weeks

LeBrun adds that we should expect this situation to roll out much past the July draft. In the event the Flames have to pivot and find another target, they want to know what he’s doing well before the opening of free agency on July 13.

Gaudreau may circle back to Calgary but now that teams can’t technically talk to free agents with an interview period, it will be intriguing to see what sort of deadline the Flames have set on this, if any.

Next: Andrei Kuzmenko Has Committed to Sign with the Vancouver Canucks