no

Why would Seattle do this

I think he's just doing the hypothetical.

And yeah, that contract is awful. They signed it before they knew they had serious interest from JG, FWIW.

Everyone will stop crying about Bjorkstrand when they see how good Marchenko is.

Was there any truth to the idea that having Gudbranson in-house helped them land Gaudreau? Heard that kicking around last month, not sure if there was every any follow up on it.

Sounds like it helped, but it was motley Atkinson and Robinson who landed Gaudreau.

I read something a few days ago (I think on the Blue Jackets reddit page) that said that Gudbranson did not know that Gaudreau was coming to Columbus until right before he signed. As Ajp_18 mentioned, it was mainly other players that got him to sign in Columbus. The big one that made the most headlines was Atkinson. Given that he plays for the Flyers, it was a surprise for many that he encouraged Johnny to go to Columbus.