In the presented scenario, Johnny is forcing his way back home, which may be "accidentally" leaked so that other teams realize they won't be able to sign him.
But this is all so ridiculous.
In recent history, there has been exactly one player who was the top offensive player on his team and who worked his way back home. That was John Tavares, and there's a reason that it was such a huge deal what happened with him. In order for that to even be in the realm of possibility, the Islanders had to somehow avoid building a contender around him for a decade, the Islanders had to be unstable in terms of their arena situation, and Toronto, his desired destination, had to be in a perfect situation to add him. It was a perfect storm that led to a once-in-a-blue-moon scenario.
So in order to justify any statements about why this scenario is more likely than the norm, there would have to be some indication of Johnny not fitting the normal mould in this regard. What makes him different, to the extent that we think that he, in particular, is at risk of forcing his way back to the East Coast? Because the presented scenario sets him apart from other Flames player in terms of his likelihood of doing this, while Johnny has been nothing but a model Flame and a well-liked teammate in the locker room.
With no evidence to the contrary, it's more likely that the Flames pursue a trade than Gaudreau. And that only needs to happen if we can't get our act together on the ice.