Flames wasting no time with Tkachuk situation

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The Calgary Flames aren’t waiting around.

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Not this time.

Mere days after the Flames were left sorely disappointed when Johnny Gaudreau informed them at the last minute that he had no intention of signing a long-term deal that would keep him in Calgary, the team made a move that should offer them some protection from a similar situation arising with Matthew Tkachuk. 

When the Flames announced they’d be taking Tkachuk to arbitration late on Monday afternoon, the rumour mill started up. 

Was this a pre-emptive move that sets up an imminent trade that would yield a sizable return?

There were lots of people speculating that it was, although Flames GM Brad Treliving has repeatedly made it clear his priority is to get Tkachuk re-signed long-term.

The same was said about Gaudreau, though, and it led to the Flames losing him in free-agency for absolutely nothing when he signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets last week. 

Article content Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk and then-teammate Johnny Gaudreau celebrate a goal during a game this past season. Photo by Gavin Young /Postmedia file

That can’t happen with Tkachuk, at least not this summer. He’s a restricted free-agent, after all, so any team looking to sign him would have had to present him with an offer sheet that the Flames could have matched. Had the Flames chosen not to, they at least would have received a hefty package of draft picks as compensation.

Monday’s move means the possibility of an offer sheet from another team is off the table completely. The Flames, and the Flames alone, can negotiate a long-term extension with Tkachuk until next summer at the earliest, when he could become an unrestricted free-agent if nothing is worked out between the player and the team that drafted him No. 6 overall back in 2016.

Of course, the Flames could also trade him and his signing rights to another team. There’d definitely be lots of suitors and the return would be considerable.

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It’s worth noting, though, that nothing the Flames have said or done necessarily indicates that’s the direction they’re leaning. 

Take the statement they released on Monday evening.  

“The Flames have filed for club-elected salary arbitration with Matthew Tkachuk,” the tweet read. “This provides us the opportunity to continue to work with his representatives towards a contractual resolution while removing the possibility of an offer sheet.” 

Nothing about that statement screams, “We’ve given up on signing one of our most prized assets and are looking to send him elsewhere.”

It would be fair to argue that no team is ever going to release a statement that gives away their hand at this point in the process, but it would be equally fair to point out the Flames have been consistent in saying they want to keep Tkachuk for as long as reporters have been asking about it. 

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So why are some so sure the Flames will be looking to flip him?

Well, if the team and the player do go to arbitration, the most that can be awarded is a one-year deal for something north of $9-million — the amount of the qualifying offer the Flames presented to Tkachuk earlier in the summer. 

If that happens, the one-year deal kicks in soon after the hearing is over and the Flames can’t negotiate a new, long-term contract with Tkachuk until Jan. 1, 2023, at the earliest. 

After what happened with Gaudreau, can anyone really see that being a path the Flames want to go down with their other most-prized asset?

Are they really going to risk losing two 100-point players in back-to-back summers and get nothing in return? 

It’s impossible to imagine the Flames taking that risk.  

On one level, the decision to take Tkachuk to arbitration buys the Flames a little time. He could have accepted their qualifying offer this week, and the countdown to free-agency would have started right then. At least now they have until the end of the month — the hearing could be between July 27 and Aug. 11. 

On another level, the decision moves the clock forward. If the team and the player can’t find common ground on a long-term contract extension by the time of the arbitration hearing, a trade probably becomes the most likely scenario. 

One way or another, the Flames don’t appear content to just wait around. Not this time.  

daustin@postmedia.com