According to SportsNet today, Johnny Gaudreau confirmed he will participate in the upcoming World Cup competition, whether or not he has a contract in place with the Flames. They report Gaudreau purchased additional insurance to cover himself during the tournament.

Gaudreau’s agent apparently said there would be no contract negotiations with the player during the World Cup, so Brad Treliving and the Flames will have to wait until after the proceedings to re-ink their most potent offensive weapon.

Shorter version: please get Gaudreau signed sooner rather than later. 

On that front, there is still no clear end in sight for the Gaudreau and Sean Monahan contract negotiations. Claims that deals are “close” continue to surface, but that has been true for weeks now. Obviously there’s still lots of time before now and the start of the season so Flames fans don’t need to panic. Nevertheless if Gaudreau goes to the World Cup without a deal in hand in September some palms might start to get sweaty in town. 

That said, Brian Burke says Monahan and Gaudreau willl both be signed by the time the World Cup rolls around, so take that for what it’s worth.

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