Report: Matthew Tkachuk “will be a member of the St. Louis Blues”

Last night the Calgary Flames announced that they have filed for a salary arbitration hearing with unsigned RFA forward Matthew Tkachuk. The Flames themselves made the announcement saying that arbitration "provides us the opportunity to continue to work with his representatives towards a contractual resolution while removing the possibility of an offer sheet."

For those unfamiliar with salary arbitration, it's essentially a mediation process in cases where two sides can't agree on a fair salary. To me, this indicates that the Flames and Tkachuk's representation are far apart in negotiations. Well, far apart enough where salary arbitration seems like a good idea to the Flames. If I'm a Flames fan that's giving me SERIOUS cause for concern.

In fact, Flames insider Eric Francis went so far as to say that Tkachuk's “days in Calgary are over.”

More from Francis:

Less than a week after losing Johnny Gaudreau, the team now very much appears on the brink of having to part with Matthew Tkachuk.

That’s the most reasonable way to interpret news late Monday that the Flames have filed to take Tkachuk to salary arbitration.

In all likelihood, Tkachuk has indicated to the Flames what many have feared for years — that he isn’t interested in extending his stay in Calgary.

Flames GM Brad Treliving politely refused comment on the move when contacted by Sportsnet, but the reality is clear: if Tkachuk isn’t willing to sign for more than one year, he has to be traded.

- Eric Francis

More than that though, Francis predicts that a trade for Tkachuk will be wrapped up THIS WEEK and that his likely destination is his hometown of St. Louis.

Check it out:

If I'm a Flames fan I'm very, very, VERY nervous about this. The Flames would likely get disgruntled winger Vladimir Tarasenko in the exchange, but the Blues would have to sweeten things even more to get my attention. Then again... if Tkachuk has the Flames over a barrel, how much leverage do they actually have in negotiations?