CALGARY — Matthew Tkachuk’s decision to leave Calgary took three years.
No, I wasn’t counting down the days, dreaming of the day I could return to the US.
As the Calgary Flame, he put his heart and soul into a job, a team, and a city he loved.
A city that loved him.
However, in his first interview since being traded, Tkachuk told Sportsnet.ca on Saturday that when he signed his three-year bridge deal in 2019, he always knew there was a chance he concluded it would be time to go.
“I put myself in a position with the last agreement I signed to re-evaluate my life and career at this stage, and I came to the conclusion after the RFA period (July 13) it was time to look elsewhere.” he explained about the decision that rocked Calgary.
“There are a lot of things that went into it. There is no single reason why I left. At the end of the day, I wanted to reassess where I am, and after talking to a few teams I did and came to that conclusion.
“I didn’t know what my decision was going to be until that period of conversation.
“Everything changed then.”
That’s when the grass seemed greener, the beach seemed sandier, the air seemed warmer, and state taxes seemed, well, non-existent.
The possibilities were endless for the 104-point superstar, who knew he could write his own ticket just about anywhere he wanted.
So he acted fast, initiating what he considered the most difficult phone call of his life, informing the man who selected him sixth overall that he would not sign an extension.
Five days later he became a Florida Panther in a sign-and-trade deal that will pay him $76 million over eight years.
A whirlwind, no doubt.
“I’m sitting here, very excited about my time there in Calgary,” said Tkachuk, who will travel to Florida on Sunday for his introductory news conference on Monday.
“I am sad and happy. Very mixed. … I am sad to leave so many wonderful people in the city and in the organization.
“I feel like I did it the right way. I played the best I could. I tried to be in the community as much as possible. I recently knew it was time for a change. … There were no hesitations or delays. I told them right away. It’s like ripping off a Band-Aid right away. It’s hard.
“I hope people can respect me for that and for trying to help them as much as they tried to help me through this process, because I feel like working together really benefited both of us.”
The call to Brad Treliving, as you can imagine, was an emotional one.
“It was the hardest phone call I’ve ever had in this sport at any level,” the 24-year-old Tkachuk said. “Nothing comes close to rivaling that. It was a very real conversation. Pretty emotional for me, some of the biggest emotions I’ve ever had. And he too. They were like two friends. We really respect each other.
“I wanted to make sure to work with him and not cut them dry.
“We worked together and it was really perfect. He did an amazing job. He is one of the most respected general managers in the league for a reason. … We worked through it and I think we’re both happy with the way the results came out.”
As beloved as Tkachuk has been in Calgary, the four-piece swag that Treliving landed for Tkachuk on Friday single-handedly changed the woe-me narrative on a dime.
Suddenly there is excitement and hope in a city that was running out of it.
Losing two 100-point stars in a fortnight can do that.
But adding a 115-point superstar in Jonathan Huberdeau, a superior defenseman in MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt and a first-round player has changed the narrative, and Flames fans can thank Tkachuk for that.
“I think Tre respected me for talking to him right away about it,” said Tkachuk, who actually received praise from the GM earlier that day. “I could have kept this decision close to me and done it another way, either by signing a one-year deal and putting them in a tough spot.
“I wanted to be honest with them right away and being able to work with them made this a lot easier.”
As confirmed, the decision had nothing to do with Johnny Gaudreau informing the club at 11the time it was hitting the open market.
“It had nothing to do with it,” he said. “This is my career. I signed my last contract for the sole reason of (options). I could have accepted a longer deal and more money, but I wanted to re-evaluate after a three-year bridge deal, and that’s what I did.”
Tkachuk said he gave Treliving a handful of teams to sign with long-term, maximizing the return. The list quickly dwindled.
“We narrowed it down to three teams that I would have been very, very happy to go to, but at the end of the day Florida pushed like hell and it all happened in one day,” he said, before explaining his pick on the Panthers. .
“What attracted me the most is the competitiveness and how close they have been and what a good team they are and how great they will be in the future, it is something that I really feel I can help with.
“All the guys are between 20 and 30 years old. … The opportunity to win was the most attractive. … The sun, the beach and all that stuff, don’t get me wrong, that’s incredibly attractive, but the opportunity to win trumps everything.”
In a 25-minute talk from his home in St. Louis, Tkachuk praised his time in Calgary and the people who made it special.
“I will always remember my time in Calgary as the best and most important years of my life to date,” he said. “I am leaving as a 24-year-old and entered as an 18-year-old. I’m proud of that and I’m proud of the relationships with the people who helped me with that.
“Whether you are a coach, trainer, manager, fan, media or track safety, I just hope I can become one of the guys who is really fun and easy to work with. That’s what I want to be remembered for.
“I really grew up in that city and it’s one of the best cities I’ve ever been to in the world, it’s so unique. There are so many interesting things about the city.
“I was looking back and reflecting on my draft day, I didn’t know anything about Calgary. … Coming out of there, I hope you can consider me the kind of player that the people of Alberta can be proud of. Well, in Calgary, not the people from the north.
“It will always have a special place in my heart.”