Johnny Gaudreau will be back in the Flames' lineup after signing a new deal. USATSI

Two days before the Calgary Flames are due to open their season, they finally have their best player under contract. Restricted free agent Johnny Gaudreau signed a six-year extension Monday, worth a reported $40.5 million, ending a contract stalemate that lasted throughout the offseason.

Gaudreau had not reported to training camp due to his not being under contract. With the threat of missing games becoming very real with the season fast approaching, the two sides finally reached an agreement and it looks to be very fair value for the team in particular.

With a $6.75 million annual average, the Flames are able to stay salary cap compliant. Additionally, they bought up one year of Gaudreau's unrestricted free agency eligibility. The more UFA years a team buys up, the more expensive the deal becomes, which is probably why the two sides couldn't get to a max extension of eight years. Gaudreau stands to make a lot more on his next deal assuming he keeps up this rate of production.

Various reports and rumors had Gaudreau's camp seeking upwards of $8 million per season on a max extension. Considering how well the New Jersey native has played over his first two professional seasons, it wasn't necessarily the most outlandish ask, but he didn't have much leverage as a restricted free agent. Additionally, Gaudreau could not be signed to an offer sheet because he hadn't had enough NHL service time. That favored the Flames in a big way during the negotiation.

Gaudreau issued a statement through Twitter after re-signing with the team.

It would appear the threat of missing games wasn't sitting too well with the player known as Johnny Hockey. Either way, he should have plenty of time to make a lot more money in this league.

At only 23 years old, Gaudreau has already become one of the top left wingers in the game. In 160 games with the Flames, Gaudreau has 143 points including 55 goals. He also just might be one of the most skilled stickhandlers in the NHL today.

Check out some of his best highlights from last season:

With Gaudreau under contract, Calgary's central core is locked up for at least the next four seasons at really reasonable contracts. Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Mark Girodano and Dougie Hamilton are all signed through 2021, while T.J. Brodie is under contract through 2019-20.

That's a pretty strong core to build around. On top of that, the team looks to have two more young, promising forwards that should be core pieces going forward in Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk.

Getting the Gaudreau contract done was the last major hurdle heading into the season. There's some more roster building that needs to be done in the long-term, but Calgary has to feel comfortable with where they are and even better about where they are going.