Tkachuk explains Flames exit: 'I feel like I did it the right way'

Although Matthew Tkachuk didn't specify why he decided to leave the Calgary Flames, he said he's at peace with how he went about it.

"I feel like I did it the right way," he told Sportsnet's Eric Francis on Saturday. "I played my hardest. I tried to be in the community as much as possible. I knew pretty recently it was time for a change. ... There was no second-guessing it or delaying it. I told them right away. It's like ripping a Band-Aid off ... It's hard.

"I hope people can respect me for that, and for trying to help them out as much as they tried to help me out in this process, because I feel working together really did benefit both of us."

Calgary shipped Tkachuk, 24, to the Florida Panthers on Friday night in a blockbuster deal that saw Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar go the other way. Tkachuk inked an eight-year, $76-million contract in the process.

Although Tkachuk acknowledged there was always a chance he'd want out after the duration of his previous three-year contract, he said he didn't make that decision until recently.

"I put myself in a position with the last deal I signed to kind of re-evaluate my life and my career at this stage, and I kind of came to the conclusion after the restricted free-agent period (July 13) that it was time to look elsewhere," he said.

"There's a lot that went into it. There's no single reason why I left."

Tkachuk also said his goodbye via Twitter on Sunday.

Thank you, Calgary. pic.twitter.com/lgmjqaHXbw

- Matthew Tkachuk (@TKACHUKycheese_) July 24, 2022

Reports surfaced Wednesday that Tkachuk, who said he made his decision to leave after talking to a few teams during the RFA period, informed the Flames he wasn't going to re-sign long term. He could've walked to unrestricted free agency in 2023.

Tkachuk provided general manager Brad Treliving with a handful of clubs he'd sign a long-term deal with, which helped the Flames get the best return possible.

"We narrowed it to three teams that I would have been very, very happy to go to," Tkachuk said. "But at the end of the day, Florida pushed like hell, and it all happened within a day.

"The thing I was most attracted to is the competitiveness and how close (the Panthers have) been and how good of a team they are and how great they will be in the future - it's something I really feel I can help with."

He continued: "All the guys are in their mid-to-late 20s. ... The chance to win was the most attractive. ... The sun, the beach, and all that stuff - don't get me wrong, that's really, unbelievably attractive, but the chance to win trumps it all."

The Panthers are the reigning Presidents' Trophy winners after a 122-point campaign, although they were swept in Round 2 by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Flames, though, were competitive in their own right, as they recorded 111 points last season - the second most in club history.

Tkachuk, who's coming off a 104-point campaign, added that he'll always look back fondly on his days in Calgary.

"It will always have a special place in my heart," he said.

Copyright (C) 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.