Quote:
Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper
What do you mean exactly? Hubderdeau is in the exact spot Gaudreau was last year along with the exact same system/formation that he had in Florida? Everything was the same. He still gets all kinds of puck touches, but did he create enough this season?
The coaches actually tried quite a few things to varying levels of success, but ultimately, PPs are pretty simple. If you have the talent, you'll have a good PP (see Ottawa/Buffalo). Those teams aren't any good, but they have top 10 PPs because their talent can execute better. It's probably that simple.
The Flames PP was top 10 last year mainly because of Tkachuk and to a lesser extent Gaudreau. Removing both of them was always going to result in a drop off. Look at Florida for instance, they lost 35 PP from Huberdeau yet they're still top 10 this season.
To me, I think losing Tkachuk was the biggest loss to the Flames' PP and the organization definitely did not and probably could not find a comparable enough replacement.
|
I don’t think Huberdeau gets a fraction of the touches on the powerplay that Gaudreau did. Partly because he’s not the puck carrier but partly because the puck carrier rarely dished to him.