Ever since Jonathan Huberdeau arrived in Calgary things have not worked out for him. Things escalated Tuesday night when he was benched for the third period as the Flames rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Nashville Predators by a score of 4-2.
Huberdeau arrived last offseason along with MacKenzie Weegar as part of the trade that saw Matthew Tkachuk go to the Florida Panthers. At the time Huberdeau was coming off a 115-point season. The Panthers had won the President’s Trophy but had lost in the second round of the playoffs.
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Because the Flames had lost both Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, then general manager Brad Treliving made sure that another pending free agent was not going to leave town by extending Huberdeau by eight more years at $10.5 million a season.
However, that deal has looked so bad since the day Huberdeau signed it. Last season under then-head coach Darryl Sutter, Huberdeau was a shell of himself. He recorded 55 points (15 goals and 40 assists). Again it was the first year in Calgary. There might have been a little shell shock from being traded.
Huberdeau was a beloved member of the Panthers and there were talks of extending him in Florida before the trade happened to Calgary. But that did not happen thus Huberdeau found himself in a defensive-minded system that did not benefit his game.
As previously mentioned things did not work out under Sutter for Huberdeau. However, the Flames only missed the playoffs by a couple of points. The Flames made a coaching change in the offseason letting Sutter go and bringing in Ryan Huska. So many expected Huberdeau to have a bounce-back season.
However, things have not changed for Huberdeau. In 12 games this season, Hubderdeau has six points (two goals and four assists) and is the shell of himself as he looks for answers. While he knows he has to be better, something is not clicking in Calgary for Hubderdeau.
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And while he may have had an off night as Huska stated, Huberdeau has been having way too many off nights in Calgary. And while people say he is fine, Huberdeau is not fine.
So what is the problem?
As TSN’s Director of Scouting Craig Button has stated that Huberdeau is trying to be too perfect.
“Everything right now is wrong with Jonathan Huberdeau’s game and think of a player trying to find his game. You know you try to locate where he is on the ice. He doesn’t look comfortable. He doesn’t look like he’s flowing in a creative manner. We know he has really good skills, but everything he’s doing right now seems to be preordained. Predetermined. And that’s not how you can play the game.
There’s one thing to have precision in your game. He’s always been an excellent passer. Always been a really good playmaker, but it looks like, because he’s thinking so much about what his next play is. How much he wants to be perfect in that next play. It slows everything else down. It also Telegraph’s everything.
I think the best way for Jonathan Huberdeau to proceed is to just trust himself. He’s got to do more doing and a lot less trying to think about what he’s going to do. Because he’s telegraphing everything, and he’s not given very much right now to the Calgary Flames and that has to improve. That’s where I would start with him. And that’s where I think a potential solution can be found.”
And forget about trying to move Huberdeau who is in year one of an eight-year, extension. Again the contract carries a $10.5 million contract. So what do you do?
As TSN’s Hockey Insider, Pierre LeBrun points out, Hubderdeau is not going anywhere because nobody wants that deal.
“Obviously this guy is a very talented hockey player, but we have more than a sample size here to suggest that it’s just not been a good fit. And where you go from here all right now that contracts on trainable he has to figure it out and figure it out in Calgary.”
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Hubderdeau is saying all the right things. Doing all the right things on the bench, however, he needs to be playing. And this is a carryover from last year. It is the market? Is he putting too much pressure on himself? Whatever the case is, Hubderdeau is doing more harm than good for the Flames right now.
Remember as LeBrun noted, Panthers GM Bill Zito was criticized for making the deal sending Weegar and Huberdeay to Calgary for Tkachuk. However, maybe Zito knew something about Hubderdeau that we did not see on the ice.
Again something is not clicking for Jonathan Huberdeau in Calgary. He needs to figure it out quickly because the Flames need him to be the player he was when they traded for him.