NHL: Matthew Tkachuk wanted to sign a long-term contract with the Flames in 2019

Matthew Tkachuk would still be ready for the Calgary Flames in 2019 if the front office follows through on his wishes.

The Florida Panthers winger asked to be traded to Calgary this summer — and eventually got one — but he says there was a time when he wanted to stay long-term.

“In this process this summer, I thought about when I went through the contract three years ago,” Tkachuk said.. “The whole process after entry level, I was like, 'No, (I want to sign) for six, seven, eight years. What are we doing?' And nothing came of it.”

Unfortunately for him and the Flames, in retrospect, the cap structure forced them to re-sign Tkachuk to a short-term deal as they tried to be competitive with their current roster. After sitting out most of training camp until the 2019-20 season, he eventually signed a three-year, $21 million deal.

“In the middle of training camp, (Treliving) said, 'The only way to keep this team together is to (sign you) for three years.' “I thought, 'OK, this is not my ideal situation,'” Tkachuk said.

That one move allowed the 24-year-old winger to leave the top of the game earlier than he thought.

“So, fast forward three years and I'm at this point and I'm just sitting back and watching everything,” he said. “When I didn't sign until the RFA period, I wanted to be able to talk to other teams to see different paths or what would happen with other teams, given my rights. Because there was some uncertainty with me in Calgary. Honestly, when I had that conversation with (Panthers GM Bill Zito) during the RFA period, I knew Florida was the destination I wanted to go down. As much as I wanted it, there was no guarantee.”

The Flames and Panthers eventually struck a deal that saw Tkachuk head to the Sunshine State in exchange for a package that included star winger Jonathan Huberdeau and defenseman Mackenzie Vigar.

And right now, Tkachuk seems to have made the right decision. After signing an eight-year, $76 million contract with the Flames and being sent to Florida in the NHL's first sign-and-trade move, the young winger is lighting it up. Tkachuk leads the Panthers with 17 points in just 12 games and can still be his rough self while racking up 30 penalty minutes.

On the other side of the transaction coin, the Flames are stuck in the mud with a 5-5-2 start to the season, and neither Huberdeau nor Vigar are producing as much offensively as they'd hoped, and the winger is only making money. six points so far.

In a league that errs on the side of safety more than risk, Tkachuk made the play to escape Calgary and land in a competitive and well-positioned spot. Living in warm weather year-round, earning millions, scoring goals and winning hockey games seems like a decent payoff.

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