Priority remains signing Gaudreau, Tkachuk

Come Friday, there will be cowboys on bulls and midway-goers on roller-coasters at the Calgary Stampede.

On Thursday, the wildest ride in Cowtown was navigating all that social media speculation as a fan of the Flames.

With the free agent frenzy less than a week away, there remains no definitive word — and all sorts of guesswork — on the future of Johnny Gaudreau. As the clock ticks toward 10 a.m. MT on July 13, many are worried that the dynamic left-winger, fresh off a dazzling 115-point campaign, is going to sign elsewhere.

During the past couple of days, if you've done enough scrolling, you've likely also spotted scuttlebutt that the Flames are mulling the possibility of trading Gaudreau's first-line sidekick and fellow 100-point performer, Matthew Tkachuk. As a restricted free agent, he also requires a new contract this summer.

Prior to the first round of the NHL Draft Thursday, Flames general manager Brad Treliving told Sportsnet 960 The Fan's Pat Steinberg that his off-season game plan hasn't changed any. He is hoping Gaudreau and Tkachuk will be sticking around the Saddledome for years to come.

“Nothing really new other than what we've said all along — we want to sign both players,” Treliving told Steinberg in Montreal. “We've made long-term proposals to both players. We try to do everything to get them signed. Ultimately, the player has that decision to make.

“So we just continue to work at it. But from our end, our only objective is that we want to sign them. If that becomes not feasible, then you pivot. But just so everybody is clear, the only place that we're spending our calories right now is to try to get both these players signed to long-term commitments.”