Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
Just stop with the Lucic was great for Huberdeau argument. Yes, Lucic is fairly good at puck retrieval. But he is NOT good at play-making, or finishing plays. Huberdeau needs to be playing with players that can work with him creatively. And he needs to be allowed to make plays.
The only reason Lucic was good statistically on that line (for a while) was that Huberdeau happened to be playing his best hockey of the season at that time.
You don't dumb-down a Huberdeau to play with a Lucic, you find guys to play with him who can help him maximize his value.
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So coincidentally, Lucic just happened to play with Huberdeau when he was at his best for an entire month? We’re talking about hundreds of shifts here, Lucic definitely had a big part in helping Huberdeau’s increased production.
It’s not about “dumbing down” Huberdeau, it’s about insulating him with guys who do things he’s not good at. Huberdeau has also proven in the past that he doesn’t need great playmakers or finishers on his line to be productive. You don’t need 3 creative playmakers on one line, there’s only one puck, Huberdeau can by himself can be the primary playmaking quarterback on his line.
Since Huberdeau gets so many ozone starts anyway, what he really needs right now is a guy who can do the dirty work, cycle the puck around and get the puck to him with some time and space so he has more opportunities to use his vision and find open linemates.
Like I’ve said numerous times already, Lucic obviously isn’t the ideal linemate for Huberdeau. But so far, he’s been one of the best options so far since he’s played with seemingly everybody and hasn’t found chemistry. I mean Jonathan has played with the team’s current top point getters in 2 separate stints this season and they were awful together. There was no creativity or production happening there. It’s not always offense with offense with offense and I think Darryl knows this, that’s why he put Lucic and Huberdeau together.