Gaudreau changed his mind about leaving Flames during car ride with his wife: report

While some Calgary Flames fans might have fully moved on from Johnny Gaudreau’s departure last summer, that won’t stop more information from filtering out about one of the most chaotic offseasons in franchise history.

By now, the basics of Gaudreau’s saga last summer are well in the past: after spending the first nine years of his NHL career in Calgary and finishing tied for second in the NHL with 115 points in 2021-22, the now-29-year-old signed a seven-year, $68.25 million deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets, shocking just about everyone in the hockey world.

In a recent episode of the Barn Burner podcast, hockey insider Frank Seravalli suggested that a quick trip in his automobile solidified Gaudreau’s decision to leave Calgary.

“I don’t even think it was Johnny. I don’t think Johnny had any issue coming back. I think he wanted to come back,” Seravalli said on the podcast. “In fact, not to relitigate this again, but the Flames the day before thought that he was coming back. There was an afternoon sort of buzz and spring in everyone’s step as the hours dragged on before free agency, where they thought they were getting him back. They had negotiated the contract, gotten to where everyone was comfortable with numbers, and then Johnny Gaudreau went on a car ride with his wife and then called the Flames back tearfully and said, ‘Sorry, I can’t do this.’”

We haven’t heard a story that emotional about a car trip since Olivia Rodrigo released “drivers license” back in 2021.

And the quick turnaround seems to back up the story told by someone who’s known him longer than anyone: his mom.

“It’s funny because I went to work that day, the day of free agency, because prior to that we thought that John was definitely staying with Calgary,” Gaudreau’s mother Jane said on a Raising a Champion podcast last November. “I know Calgary fans don’t believe that, some of them, but up until the 12th hour we thought that he was staying with Calgary.”

Gaudreau was both booed and cheered by the Saddledome crowd during his return with the Blue Jackets this past January, getting jeers during the game but a standing ovation during his video tribute.

“I kind of knew what was going to happen, but still, there’s nothing that gets you ready for something like that,” said Gaudreau at the time about the reception. “They were cheering and rooting for me for the past nine, 10 years, and now they’re all booing me. It’s hard. It was hard for a little bit.”

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