Gaudreau hints at some bad blood between him and Flames in first press conference with Blue Jackets

In case you missed it yesterday, Johnny Gaudreau absolutely shocked the hockey world by turning down big money offers from the Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders in favor of signing with the... Columbus Blue Jackets.

It's a move that NO ONE saw coming, even after Gaudreau informed the Flames on Tuesday evening that he wouldn't be re-signing in Calgary. There were rumors that the Philadelphia Flyers, Devils and the Islanders were all in pursuit of Gaudreau, but the persistence of Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekkalainen and President John Davidson is what sealed the deal for Johnny Hockey.

As for the Flames, GM Brad Treliving made it crystal clear that he did everything possible to get Gaudreau under contract and insiders have reported that he went so far as to offer an eight year, $80 deal to Gaudreau that was turned down. In the end Gaudreau ended up signing for seven years and $68.25 million with the Blue Jackets, a significant cut from what was on the table in Calgary. Personally that's the sort of thing that makes me wonder if there's something else at play other than the money. Usually when a player leaves money on the table it's because they're willing to take less if it means going to a Stanley Cup contender. But of course the Blue Jackets aren't really Cup contenders as they're currently constructed. So... what gives?

Well Gaudreau didn't offer up many hints as to why he left Calgary in his first press conference with the Blue Jackets today, but he did address the situation with some cryptic comments.

"For me, it was just time for me to make a bit of a change. I'll leave it at that," Gaudreau said when asked why he wasn't interested in a return to Calgary. "Our decision was it was best for us not to go back to Calgary."

Ouch... how's that for a parting letter, Flames fans?

I can only speculate but I wonder if Gaudreau's decision to leave has something to do head coach Darryl Sutter. It's not exactly a secret that Sutter is a demanding coach who can be difficult to play for and I don't see Gaudreau and him seeing eye to eye on many things.