Gaudreau, who grew up a Flyers fan in Salem, New Jersey, about 40 miles south of Philadelphia, said so during an interview with WIP radio in Philadelphia .

Forward Johnny Gaudreau is happy playing for the Calgary Flames but said Friday he would someday welcome a chance to play for the Philadelphia Flyers.

"I have a ton of family here, all my friends," the 23-year-old said. "I actually have a wedding this weekend in South Jersey, and all my friends come back here. All my good friends and kids who I have played with all my life are from South Jersey, so it would be sweet to play here someday.

"You never know in sports. It's a lot of support back here in South Jersey and the Philly area, they follow me pretty well."

Gaudreau has five years remaining on a six-year contract he signed with the Flames on Oct. 10, 2016. It has an average annual value of $6.75 million.

Last week, Gaudreau expressed optimism regarding the Flames' immediate future, saying, "I think we have a great three years ahead of us." And on Friday he said he enjoys being in Calgary.

"Every morning you wake up, you look out your window and you see the mountains," he said. "I go to Starbucks every morning and before I leave the Starbucks I'm taking three, four, five pictures and little kids [are] running up to me. It's really cool there, they're really passionate about their hockey … it makes it a lot of fun playing over there."

Gaudreau was selected by the Flames in the fourth round (No. 104) of the 2011 NHL Draft. He has 204 points (73 goals, 131 assists) in 232 NHL games, and had 61 points (18 goals, 43 assists) last season to help the Flames qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the first wild card from the Western Conference.

Video: LAK@CGY: Gaudreau roofs slick backhand on breakaway

He's hosting the second annual Johnny Gaudreau Scholarship Golf Tournament at Blue Heron Pines Golf Club in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey, on July 28. The money raised will go toward scholarships at Gloucester Catholic High School, which Gaudreau attended. Current and former NHL players will be taking part in the event.

"When I was growing up I would have never gotten the chance to go to Gloucester Catholic without a lot of help from people," he said. "Now playing in the NHL, I figured it's good to give back to the school that kind of built me into who I am today. … [At the tournament, we have] Kevin Hayes (New York Rangers), Anthony DeAngelo, who's going to play for the Rangers next year, Kenny Agostino (Boston Bruins), who's the leading scorer in the [American Hockey League] last year, and we've got a lot of a couple older Flyers too, so it's an exciting time."