Thing is Gaudreau is at the heart of it a pick carrier. So him getting the license to be creative worked very well most of the time. He carries the puck and does creative stuff and Tkachuk and Lindholm did the dirty work and were there to receive his passes. And it led to some very high puck control stats and a huge plus/minus. Now sure it struggles against some top lines but against most lines it dominated, especially when the Flames could play matchups.
Now Huberdeau I think is just a less structured type of player. I think someone in another thread said Kucherov on Tampa is similar. Not so much about puck control but more free wheeling and chaotic. That needs both players who can work with that style and a system that allows that type of play. Will Sutter be flexible enough to let that happen? Or just force Huberdeau to be a defensively responsible winger. He can’t carry as good as Gaudreau so it’s going to be a massive downgrade.
The only other option is to staple him to a good puck carrier which I think is why Backlund is being tried but he just doesnt have the skill game to finish. Maybe it would work if their other winger was a sniper type, but Coleman is certainly not that. Backlund/Huberdeau/Toffoli maybe? Don’t know but if they’re making Backlund and Huberdeau a pair they need to give them someone better than Coleman.
|