Flames make final pitches to Gaudreau as free agency looms

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With the Calgary Flames’ season now over, the franchise can focus its attention on one of the biggest questions in its history: Will pending free agent Johnny Gaudreau re-sign with the club, or will the star test free agency?

For his part, Gaudreau re-stated his love for the city on Saturday.

“I’ve been here for 11 years and haven’t got to that ultimate goal and it’s been a while since they’ve won here so I think that would be pretty special — to win a Cup here,” he said. 

“It’s something that I kind of dreamed about my whole life, and Calgary is a great place to do it.” 

Calgary is the only NHL team he has ever known, and even Gaudreau did not seem ready for the possibility of putting on a different sweater.

“It’s all I’ve known for the past 11 years and it’s kind of a big decision here and I’m just going to try to figure out what’s best for me first and my family and go from there,” he said.

“But Calgary is a special place for me and I do really, really love it here.” 

Brad Treliving and Gaudreau’s agent, Lewis Gross, kept talks out of the public eye during the season. With free agency looming, the urgency to have an answer from Gaudreau has only grown.

“I've said this - and I've said it to John - I think he's a Calgary Flame and we want to make him a Calgary Flame for a long time,” Treliving said. 

“We're going to do everything we possibly can to make that happen. We saw what he's capable of. I've believed in this guy since the day I walked through the doors here. Certainly, that's an important piece of business that we've got to take care of."

Teammates have also been making their pitches all season, including two-time Stanley Cup champion Blake Coleman, who brought up how he could be remembered.

“H