Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
The ice-time is there if Huberdeau shows he deserves it. Sutter had no problem giving Gaudreau 20 minutes per game. He used to give Kopitar 21 minutes per game in L.A.
I haven't seen anything from Huberdeau that warrants more than what he is getting. Another 3-4 minutes of blind passes, being disorientated, and not shooting won't make the team better.
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He would get the ice time if his on ice play dictated it. People claiming that his minutes are the issue are not looking at his game critically. Even on overtime last night Steinberg was saying that apart from the late goal he had large lapses where he was invisible (certainly doesn't help that Kadri has been a train wreck as of late).
Brian Burke said it best, "your top players need to be your top players." It's just the reality of a cap world. Not going to win many games when your hear phrases such as "invisible" from your star player.
I also find it odd that in the game thread people were saying he was "fine" or had some "good passes" out of the zone. Is that what we have lowered the bar to? That it's okay to use words like "fine" and "oaky" to critique his game? For the salary he will command next year the word should be "elite."
Evidence is there that Sutter will play guys who are contributing. It happened with Johnny and Tkachuk and same with Kopitar. People complain here that the Flames motto is "Always given, never earned." Would that not apply to Huberdeau if Sutter decided to give him 20 minutes a night? What has he done to deserve that?