Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathgod
I think the difference is that Johnny & Chucky are more cycling/sustained offensive zone pressure type of players where Huby is more of a make plays off the rush type of player.
Calgary's dominant line suddenly struggled in games 2 thru 5 with the season on the line. Albeit, so did the Panthers vs Tampa. So it's not easy to just say one system is universally better than the other.
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Gaudreau was a spectacular rush producer. That was his bread and butter almost to a fault. His game hit a new level once Darryl arrived and he and his line started to generate outside of just the rush. That’s when they became virtually unstoppable because the opposition couldn’t stop everything they brought to the table.
I think at some point, Huberdeau’s game has to evolve in the same way. Right now, he’s a great counter striker who thrives playing a free flowing game. He can quickly pounce on free space or turnovers and make heads up plays or find the trailer.
But he’s not great at dictating the pace of play right now. He almost needs the pace to be manufactured for him which I’ve alluded to in the past. Even Sutter said it last year saying Huberdeau needed to up his pace which is an odd thing for a veteran superstar to struggle with.
I mean heck, even Tkachuk being as slow as molasses doesn’t appear to have issues with NHL pacing because he owns that rare ability to dictate it.