It has been a relatively quiet week in terms of Flames happenings this week, but one team that has been making a ton of noise has been the Columbus Blue Jackets (for all the wrong reasons), most notably about former Flame, Johnny Gaudreau and his incredibly slow start to the year.
It has been well over a year now since the decision made by Gaudreau to leave Calgary and sign in Columbus, the decision at the time was baffling to the entire hockey world as to why he would sign with the Blue Jackets, and that decision to this day looks worse and worse after every loss the Blue Jackets rake up.
It got me thinking—if Gaudreau had remained in Calgary instead of signing in Columbus, how much different would his career look? That is what I am going to look at today.
The Flames may still have the gang together
As mentioned above, it was a shell shock to everyone when Gaudreau put pen to paper in July of 2022 with the Blue Jackets on a seven-year contract. They were coming off a horrendous season while the Flames were coming off a disappointing loss in Round 2 of the playoffs, but the regular season was a major success. Gaudreau finished second in league scoring and had the most even-strength points in a season since Jaromir Jagr in the 1995–96 season—not bad company to be apart of.
It is also worth noting that Gaudreau was part of not only one of the best lines in Calgary Flames history, but one of the best lines we have seen in NHL history. Paired alongside Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk, the trio dominated and they would often win games on their own. Both Tkachuk and Lindholm had career years of their own, both potted 42 goals each, Tkachuk eclipsed the 100-point threshold for the first time in his career, and Lindholm tallied 82 points on the way to finishing second in Selke voting. That line was elite.
Now why I bringing this up, well it was widely reported that if Gaudreau had signed the contract the Flames had offered him, there was more than a good chance that Tkachuk would have stuck around too, and maybe Lindholm at this point in time would have also signed an extension, keeping around that line for a very long time. The Flames would have been able to keep the core group they had, instead of what they have now, and it is very possible they could have still been the dominating team we saw from the 21-22 season.
Gaudreau would have been a legend in Calgary, forever
There is no debate on this one, Gaudreau was one the best Flames in franchise history. The way the relationship ended with the Flames and the city of Calgary doesn’t change that and I think, in all honesty, if Gaudreau had a redo at all of this, he probably would have remained a Flame (or have signed in New Jersey), but at the end of the day, it wasn’t meant to be.
If Gaudreau had stayed in Calgary, there is a very real chance that he would have finished his career as one of, if not the highest-scoring Flame in franchise history. Even if he doesn’t get to that milestone, there is absolutely no debating that the number 13 would be hanging from the rafters someday. He would be a legend in Calgary, he would have had a legacy here, especially if he was able to help bring a Stanley Cup back to Calgary.
A leader in the franchise record books
Let’s take a look at the numbers. Gaudreau finished his time in Calgary with 609 points in 602 games, good for fifth in franchise history, Jarome Iginla is the franchise leader in points with 1095 points. There is no question in my book (barring injuries or lockouts) that Gaudreau would have surpassed Iginla in total points as a Flame. Even if Gaudreau wasn’t going to be the 115-point player he was in his last year, you would basically be able to bank him in for at least 70–80 points a year. At worst, if he averaged 56 points for another eight seasons in Calgary, he would break that record.
Iginla obviously leads the franchise in goals, and that is one category that was probably safe, but in terms of assists, Al MacInnis is the franchise leader with 609, and Gaudreau finished his Flames tenure with 399. That is another barrier that Gaudreau probably would have broken, especially if in this alternate timeline he still has Tkachuk and Lindholm and his line-mates for that time period, he probably does it with no issues. That goes the same for games played, assuming Gaudreau would play every game for the next eight seasons, he would pass Iginla for the most games played as a Calgary Flame.
So again, keeping it hypothetical, Gaudreau could have been the Flames leader in multiple franchise records, and it is not a stretch to say that he would considering the way he played when he was a Flame. It is really unfortunate that his career is (kind of) wasting away in Columbus right now.
A future reunion?
I am not going to say it is for sure going to happen, it is honestly not likely to, but I cannot stop thinking about one day Gaudreau returning to Calgary. Whether that is through free agency (ironic isn’t it?) or a trade, it would be my dream at least to have him back someday so he can end his career the way it should, donning the Flaming “C” on his chest.
Something we can all only dream about, but for the time being, we can only think about what could have been, and that is Gaudreau would have gone down in history as one of the best Calgary Flames of all time.
