Quote:
Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus
I understand the "let him play his game" rhetoric - there's no point trying to force a 200ft game out of him that he is just no good at playing. The trouble is that he's being paid to be a difference maker in more ways than just producing based on soft matchups and off the rush.
He still could have made a huge impact on the PP last year for the Flames, but instead he might have been the number 1 reason for the awful results the team had with the man advantage. You don't often see a superstar talent look so bad when he has time and space to operate with the most talented players on the roster as Huberdeau did last year.
I'm hoping for the best in terms of a bounce back year, but even if he does flirt with 80 points, I have big concerns that his play will decline in the playoffs when he simply can't compete or play through the tough matchups.
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It was incredibly clear that the team had been given a mandate not to play Huberdeau's game, even on the PP. The other forwards had clearly not practiced playing with Huberdeau as the centerpiece of the offence. How many passes to nowhere did I see Huberdeau make. Many of these were great passes directly into the slot.
The team was playing some oversimplified numbers game. The thinking was if the Flames have more possession time and get the most shots, statistically speaking they're bound to win, right? There was no consideration given to the quality of the shots....just get lots of them.