Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
Boom.
Thank you for this thoughtful analysis. I see it the same way too, especially since I know what Huberdeau was like before coming to Calgary.
This is 100% on coaching. I don't have a major issue with Darryl's overall philosophy, but he is incredibly rigid and he forces guys like Huberdeau to completely change their game to fit his system and philosophy. Like a good soldier, Huberdeau is doing what is asked of him, but it's not taking his strongest attributes into account and this is why he doesn't look like a "100 point player" here. It's a severe lack of imagination on Sutter's part.
Seriously, some of the quotes in this thread I want to save and throw back in people's faces regarding Huberdeau. You can tell who watches games other than Flames' games and who does not. Just some embarrassing posts to read that will definitely not age well.
Also, who the hell wants to get rid of Weegar? He's easily our best defender at denying zone entry. Just so effortless anytime the puck comes to his side of the ice. He takes it away and send the puck the other direction.
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100% on coaching? Come on man, what is up with CP always blaming the coaching for everything? I’ve probably said it a thousand times already, but Darryl isn’t forcing guys to “completely change” their game here. Darryl just puts a stronger emphasis on checking for chances which all teams do to a certain extent.
The work on the defensive side of the game is also very task/detail oriented, but it doesn’t mean there’s no room for offense. Tkachuk and Gaudreau played the exact same system last season and were dynamite night in, night out. Huberdeau has the same type of opportunities as the other guys did to create on the rush and he gets tons of Ozone starts to play in the offensive zone.
Ultimately though, what is causing Huberdeau’s decline in offense this season has more to do with how the opposition is defending him this season rather than Sutter IMO. How an opponent decides to defend you pretty determines how your offensive game can unfolds, for instance, if a team decided to deploy the neutral zone trap all game long, then odds are, you’ll probably be dumping and chasing all night while generating very little on the rush. Conversely, if a team opens up against the Flames like the Sharks did earlier in the season, then rush scoring chances likely increases which also happened to coincide with Huberdeau’s best outing this season (3 points), go figure.
One major criticism I will say about Huberdeau this season, is he’s been really poor with his decision making under duress. He’s been guilty of all kinds of turnovers because of soft plays, being easily stripped off of pucks, blind passes, passing into coverage, passing instead of shooting and etc.
He’s made a lot of poor decisions in this department and it has cost him some ice time because the coach can’t trust him out there. That’s very much on Huberdeau or possibly his teammates, which is possibly a roster construction thing which is a conversation for a different thread. But in terms of the coach, no, Darryl isn’t asking him to turnover pucks, blindly throwing pucks into bad places and not shooting in the grade A areas he’s found himself in.