Castagna and Walsh - The Worry Zone

[BearLover]

I'll say one thing about Castagna—this whole thing about Calgary sending a bunch of execs to his Colorado hotel and putting a full court press on him to sign feels rushed and a little unfair to him. He just got traded and was focused on the playoffs; he's barely had time to think about this! Most players know for most of the season if they plan to go pro when the season is over. We know from reporting that Castagna was NOT going to go pro with Utah this season, meaning he has only had the last two weeks—which, again, were focused on the playoffs—to figure out what he wants to do now. You'd think Jonathan would sit down with not just the Flames but also his family and current team and talk about this. But his team flew back to Ithaca yesterday morning and it's now just him and the Flames brass. I'm sure he's being as thoughtful as he can, but I don't know how you could possibly accurately weigh all the options under these circumstances.

Stunningly naive take. Porter Martone signed with the Flyers less than 24 hours after his team lost a game in the most excruciating way that would've sent them to the frozen four.

Did you not read my post? I said that most players know all year whether they will sign. It has been reported that Castagna planned NOT to sign until 2 weeks ago, when he got traded to the Flames, and since then he's been busy with the playoffs. He hasn't had time to think about it. "Stunningly naive," really? What a randomly rude thing to say. Yes, I am fully aware of Martone. The reason he signed right away is because he was planning on doing so all season.

Sorry you feel offended, but if you don't believe that a guy like Castagna, along with his family and agent, weren't discussing and planning for this scenario the moment the trade went down, then your post comes off as naive to me. Maybe be others here think like you do, but I suspect the vast majority would take my view.

I'm sure they have been planning for it, but when you're in the most stressful time of the season, and then suddenly it's over, and then the next day you're asked to sign, that does not seem like enough time to make the biggest decision of your life. As I said, these decisions usually take months. In Castagna's case, he knows nobody in the Flames organization, knows nothing about Calgary (he said himself he's never been there). He was planning on going back to school until two weeks ago! 

[stereax]

The timeline is definitely condensed but also, I'd expect if the plan was to not sign in Utah and Utah was aware of that (because at the end of the day, that's still a rumor, and hockey insiders are notorious for spreading rumors to please certain parties and get more information), that Casty and company were also aware that he'd probably be traded at some point and were preparing for it. (Yes, despite Casty saying it was a surprise. It was probably more a surprise he was traded in the Weegar deal than it was he got traded. He was probably expecting something more like the Ike Howard trade.) The timing does look rough, especially if you don't know how, frankly, incestuous hockey is at the top. It's the same group of like, thirty-two GMs and another thirty to fifty agents who do 99% of the contract work. Everyone knows everyone and tampering is always a thing even if they say it isn't.

Jonny Castagna is not stupid. Neither are his parents (who I've talked to briefly at one point), who are certainly in the room with him. Neither is his agent, Patrick Morris, who represents FIFTY current NHL contracts. If they had serious concerns about Calgary being a fit for Casty, someone would step in and get him on a bus back to Ithaca or Etobicoke, Ontario. It's ultimately his choice in the end as to signing, yes, but he has at least three, if not more, strong advocates for him in his corner who are a million times more informed than any of us.

I'm of the opinion (and this is just my pure speculation) that Casty wanted to go pro after this season even dating back closer to the start of it, but that the main thing checking him from doing so was a perceived (and probably correctly so) lack of opportunity with Utah. Once the trade happened, he and his camp have probably been in communication with the Flames on the daily, or close to it, aware of the timeline and cognizant of the ELC burn year. Everyone at this point is aware of what everyone else wants. It's just a matter of getting it done.

(Also, I suspect there's a reason everyone is waiting for the Flames to come into town and for Casty to try to get on the ice with them before signing.)

All this to say - BL does have a valid point in that it looks super rushed. At the same time, the people in the know have probably been working on this for months, at least. Trades don't usually happen overnight. Guys who are on the outs with organizations know that. Possible fits are already being investigated. And there's a reason Casty lost on Friday and hasn't yet signed, whereas Martone lost on Saturday and signed the next day. ELCs are highly standardized; that's likely not the reason why. (I doubt that the contract would be made or broken over A/B bonuses.) It's because everyone is trying to make sure this is the correct decision, that the contract is proper, that Casty's ready to make the jump into the NHL. On all sides. Because you can't go back to Cornell hockey from an NHL deal, so you need to be sure that it's what you want.

[BearLover]

Just to be clear--Castagna (reportedly) didn't want to sign with Utah after this season, but he still could have signed with Utah after next season. Yes, he could wait a few months at that point and test free agency, but plenty of players do sign with the team that drafted them after their senior year ends. If this happened, Castagna would have probably gotten an NHL game and burned a year off his entry contract (if I understand correctly how it works). Castagna seems like a loyal guy and I'd guess there'd be a good chance of signing with Utah after all, even if he came back to Cornell next season.

I am certain that Castagna, his family, and his advisor are taking their time as best they can and making as informed a decision as they can. But on such a condensed timeline it doesn't necessarily matter how smart or meticulous you are. He's ultimately going to have to make a rushed decision based on vibes. Like stereax said, there's a reason Martone signed a few minutes after his team was eliminated, and Castagna has not yet signed.

I disagree with one thing stereax said, which is that Castagna wanted to sign close to the start of this season. This I doubt. He had an underwhelming sophomore year. The hype didn't start to build until well into this season. That, plus the fact he'd be buried in the center depth chart in Utah, probably made it so he didn't think much about going pro at all. I would guess that for most of the year he just figured he'd be back for his senior year.

Last thing I'll mention in response to what Trotsky said--Schafer supports his players, whatever they end up choosing. But I wouldn't say Schafer encouraged players to leave. Schafer has said publicly that whenever a player is considering such a decision, Schafer sits down with them and explains what they're giving up: playing at Lynah, graduating with their classmates, Senior Night. Schafer also talked to his players about past Cornell players who have made the jump, and how things turned out for them. This is a measured approach that I'm sure any good college coach employs when his player is faced with this decision. I hope Castagna had the chance to sit down with Casey in the same manner, though I guess that would have been a virtual meeting from Castagna's Colorado hotel if it happened at all.

[ugarte]

Sorry you feel offended, but if you don't believe that a guy like Castagna, along with his family and agent, weren't discussing and planning for this scenario the moment the trade went down, ...

I think it is fairly likely that Utah gave Calgary permission to talk to Castagna before making the trade. The idea that his people read about it when we did is unlikely. He has had more time to prepare and a much better sense of what he wanted to do than he's being credited with. Life didn't simply happen to him, he was a participant in it. 

[stereax]

Just to be clear--Castagna (reportedly) didn't want to sign with Utah after this season, but he still could have signed with Utah after next season. Yes, he could wait a few months at that point and test free agency, but plenty of players do sign with the team that drafted them after their senior year ends. If this happened, Castagna would have probably gotten an NHL game and burned a year off his entry contract (if I understand correctly how it works). Castagna seems like a loyal guy and I'd guess there'd be a good chance of signing with Utah after all, even if he came back to Cornell next season.

The thing is, though, that the reason he was reportedly iffy on signing with Utah (organizational center/forward depth) wasn't going to change in the next year. Again, it seems like an amicable divorce between Casty and Utah, just seems like it wasn't going to work out - and Casty acknowledges as such and is grateful to the Utah organization. Utah being aware of this back in, say, November (that Castagna intended to go pro after this year with a better fit, but was content with staying with Cornell and testing free agency should he not get the chances he's looking for) means they would have had the time to shop him as a piece in bigger trades. Presumably, Casty and company were aware this was a possibility and already had ideas of which teams could fit well vs which would be an uphill climb. Again, though, ultimately none of us are in the room where it's happening.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

I'll say one thing about Castagna—this whole thing about Calgary sending a bunch of execs to his Colorado hotel and putting a full court press on him to sign feels rushed and a little unfair to him. He just got traded and was focused on the playoffs; he's barely had time to think about this! Most players know for most of the season if they plan to go pro when the season is over. We know from reporting that Castagna was NOT going to go pro with Utah this season, meaning he has only had the last two weeks—which, again, were focused on the playoffs—to figure out what he wants to do now. You'd think Jonathan would sit down with not just the Flames but also his family and current team and talk about this. But his team flew back to Ithaca yesterday morning and it's now just him and the Flames brass. I'm sure he's being as thoughtful as he can, but I don't know how you could possibly accurately weigh all the options under these circumstances.

Stunningly naive take. Porter Martone signed with the Flyers less than 24 hours after his team lost a game in the most excruciating way that would've sent them to the frozen four.

And Martone was seen on TV at the Center during last nights game in the team box shaking hands and hugging Flyers management.  FWIW, everybody in the organization knew that as soon as MSU's season was done, he was going to sign and start playing immediately.

[underskill]

Hoyt signed with Ottawa.

[fastforward]

Hoyt signed with Ottawa.

Ugh I just heard

[adamw]

I'll say one thing about Castagna—this whole thing about Calgary sending a bunch of execs to his Colorado hotel and putting a full court press on him to sign feels rushed and a little unfair to him. He just got traded and was focused on the playoffs; he's barely had time to think about this! Most players know for most of the season if they plan to go pro when the season is over. We know from reporting that Castagna was NOT going to go pro with Utah this season, meaning he has only had the last two weeks—which, again, were focused on the playoffs—to figure out what he wants to do now. You'd think Jonathan would sit down with not just the Flames but also his family and current team and talk about this. But his team flew back to Ithaca yesterday morning and it's now just him and the Flames brass. I'm sure he's being as thoughtful as he can, but I don't know how you could possibly accurately weigh all the options under these circumstances.

This is EXTREMELY commonplace nowadays, and basically expected. My friendly advice to everyone - if they want to keep their blood pressure in check - is to just assume that any good player with leave after 3 years max. If it doesn't happen, it's an upset.

[Chris '03]

And there it is:

https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/flames-sign-jonathan-castagna?fbclid=IwdGRleAQ31L9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeoWacU1ZVlpKL38xj-G-J1JNa8GjHAIbYu8P9UzLJG-3469a0loMtqZ3ZhSg_aem_UPKZAg0j0-a3MT-R-x_0iQ

[stereax]

Waaait...

Castagna's three-year entry-level deal begins in the 2026-27 season, he will report to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on a PTO for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. He was acquired by Calgary from Utah on March 4.

What?

ATO->ELC isn't uncommon, though I can't say I was expecting it, but LOWER BODY INJURY?

[Dafatone]

Waaait...

Castagna's three-year entry-level deal begins in the 2026-27 season, he will report to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on a PTO for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. He was acquired by Calgary from Utah on March 4.

What?

ATO->ELC isn't uncommon, though I can't say I was expecting it, but LOWER BOoff-season.

I would guess he was playing through something that was minor enough to tough it out for the ECAC/NCAA postseason, but not worth pushing it at the end of an AHL regular season.

Or he stubbed his toe rushing to sign his contract.

[ugarte]

Waaait...

Castagna's three-year entry-level deal begins in the 2026-27 season, he will report to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on a PTO for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. He was acquired by Calgary from Utah on March 4.

What?

ATO->ELC isn't uncommon, though I can't say I was expecting it, but LOWER BODY INJURY?

sounds to me like "he's going to finish his classes this semester instead of getting beat up in the AHL while nursing a minor injury"

[stereax]

Waaait...

Castagna's three-year entry-level deal begins in the 2026-27 season, he will report to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on a PTO for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. He was acquired by Calgary from Utah on March 4.

What?

ATO->ELC isn't uncommon, though I can't say I was expecting it, but LOWER BODY INJURY?

sounds to me like "he's going to finish his classes this semester instead of getting beat up in the AHL while nursing a minor injury"

then why sign the ATO at all? just sign the ELC for next year and come home to Ithaca lol.

Also, the Flames have a video of Casty talking about his signing and he's still in his Cornell hockey shirt and I might cry on this bus from Syracuse to Ithaca.

[ugarte]

Waaait...

Castagna's three-year entry-level deal begins in the 2026-27 season, he will report to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on a PTO for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. He was acquired by Calgary from Utah on March 4.

What?

ATO->ELC isn't uncommon, though I can't say I was expecting it, but LOWER BODY INJURY?

sounds to me like "he's going to finish his classes this semester instead of getting beat up in the AHL while nursing a minor injury"

then why sign the ATO at all? just sign the ELC for next year and come home to Ithaca lol.

Also, the Flames have a video of Casty talking about his signing and he's still in his Cornell hockey shirt and I might cry on this bus from Syracuse to Ithaca.

probably some reciprocal obligations in the meantime that are good to have in writing ASAP. you aren't kidding about how you treat your classes!