The Huberdeau disappointment is overblown. I was hoping for more of a gamebreaker but I'd suggest a few things to keep in mind.
He is playing two and a half minutes less per game than last season and even though his points per 60 have also dropped, he is on a team that rolls lines instead of deploying stars strategically and he has played a ton with Milan freaking Lucic. Add to that his move to a new city, new style of play, and the accompanying growing pains, it would be very premature to call him a bad fit or a bad contract. The Flames need to be patient here.
Maybe Pelletier, Zary, or Coronato will have great chemistry with him or maybe he and Kadri will just get better and better. It's too early to tell and the current results, as underwhelming as they might be, are still good enough for the Flames to likely be a playoff team in a year with below average goaltending.
|