REGINA — For the Riders and Chris Getzlaf, the feeling this off-season was mutual.

Getzlaf’s eight-year stint with the Riders officially ended last Friday, the 33-year old free agent agreeing to sign with the Edmonton Eskimos.

“Of course there’s a level that’s hard to leave,” Getzlaf said Monday, standing in front of a Green and Gold backdrop as he met the Edmonton media for the first time. “It’s a place that I grew up and I got a chance to play for my hometown team, and that’s a blessing in itself.

“There are always going to be memories there. I’m just really pumped for what’s going forward here.”

WATCH: It’s official, Getzlaf is an Eskimo

So Getzlaf replaces the departed Shamawd Chambers in the Eskimos’ offence while Chambers replaces Getzlaf in Regina. Everyone moves on and just like Getzlaf’s career started as a Hamilton Tiger-Cat in ’07, it’ll continue somewhere other than Regina.

It’s not a fairytale ending but for the Riders, this off-season was never about thinking with their hearts.

“You can’t run a season off your heart,” Riders VP of Football Operations and Player Personnel John Murphy told CFL.ca’s Rod Pedersen on 620 CKRM SportsCage Monday. “You have to run it by what’s in front of you.”

Murphy said the Riders were concerned with Getzlaf’s injury status and that he might not be 100 per cent heading into training camp, at the end deciding the risk factor was too high to bring him back.

“There’s no time to make those second guesses later on,” said Murphy. “You can’t be fine with going to training camp and saying ‘we were hoping he’d be 100 per cent’ and be happy because the fans wanted Getzlaf back in a uniform – and if he isn’t, then say ‘well I hope everybody gives us a break because we signed a fan favourite’.

“You and I all know that’s not gonna be how business works.”

Getzlaf was the last remaining question mark on a receiving corps that was almost entirely rebuilt this off-season, starting with the release of Weston Dressler and the departure of Ryan Smith through free agency, both ending up with the Bombers.

The Riders also traded for Maurice Price and signed Kendial Lawrence, John Chiles and a key national in Chambers. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Jeremy Kelley was also signed on the first day of free agency, while Naaman Roosevelt, Nic Demski and Rob Bagg are among those returning.