As rough as it can be to rebuild, it surprised us all last time how quickly the rebuild was. I know some would say it went too quickly last time(missing out on the McDavid draft)… but the flames still built a competitive team that looked like a real contender in the league. It didn’t work out but it shows that it could turn around pretty quickly.
The last time, the wild card that accelerated the flames’ rise out of a rebuild was that they already had a star/franchise player (Gaudreau) developing in the organization before they started their rebuild in 2013. While I don’t think the flames have a prospect/player in the system that will become an elite scorer of Gaudreau’s level at the moment… I think the flames do have a player in the system that could end up having a similar effect on accelerating the rebuild in Dustin Wolf. Throughout the entire last rebuild, the flames never had reliable goaltending. For that entire time, goaltending was consistently their biggest weakness. If Wolf reaches his potential, the flames could have that piece solved early on in this rebuild (if it happens).
Huberdeau could act as the modern Hudler for this rebuild. Acting as a fantastic mentor and elite player for young players to play on a line with. Hudler was such a great fit with Gaudreau and Monahan in that 2014-2015 year. He was the type of player that made players better around him… exactly what you want for young players entering the league. I honestly believe Huberdeau could fit this mold perfectly as well.
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