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Originally Posted by Saqe
They're very different types of players. Huberdeau is much more physical, great in the cycle game in the offensive zone, solid defensively. Maybe the best passer in the league with elite vision. But he is also very average skater and doesn't carry the puck to the offensive zone almost at all. Plus his reluctance to shoot at times will piss you off.
Gaudreau is electric and well you guys know all about him. I personally do think he is the better player but the difference isn't huge, they are just totally different types.
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Huberdeau is an incredible talent, but he isn't solid defensively.
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What it will tell us is that when Huberdeau is on the ice the Panthers struggle defensively and that they improve dramatically when he’s on the bench. His relative expected goals against rate is 63rd worst among league forwards.
It will tell us that this has been a regular occurrence for Huberdeau for the majority of his career. For six straight years, the Panthers allow more goals than expected with Huberdeau deployed, and in each of those years have allowed more chances with him on the ice too.
It will tell us that the porous defense cancels out a lot of the good built up from his incredible offense. Florida scores 57 percent of the goals with Huberdeau on the ice which may seem good, but ranks 10th on the team among Florida’s 14 forwards. It’s because of the second-worst ranked 3.2 goals against per 60 they concede with him on the ice. Sometimes that’s just poor luck, but Huberdeau also has the third-worst scoring chance against rate.
There’s clearly something off about Huberdeau’s defensive game — but there isn’t much in the data indicating what actually leads to those results and why. That it’s been a common thread through his entire career doesn’t help his case.
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Playing with Lindholm should alleviate those issues.