There’s a couple pieces of constructive criticism I would offer Jonathan Huberdeau right now if I was involved in his situation.
Long Term Solution: Firstly, I would give him some time away from the team, let him reset and give him a break from hockey. It’s insanity to continually trot him out there if Huska believes the team plays better without him. The frequency of benchings would only increase with healthy scratches soon to follow.
Secondly, I would let Danielle Fujita take a crack at him. Jonathan’s skating is the weakest aspect of his game in my opinion and because it’s the foundation to absolutely everything in a player’s game, improving that aspect would only enhance everything else. You have to be able to skate in the Flames’ system because their hard working identity puts a big emphasis on checking and being connected and your line is only going to be as strong as your weakest link.
Danielle did wonders for Michael Stone and gave him a second lease in the NHL. His final few seasons were probably the best I’ve ever seen him in terms of skating stride and mobility. If Danielle can help Huberdeau improve his first step and agility, especially in his hips, then that should help increase his ability to separate from incoming defenders both laterally and vertically.
He’s having such a difficult time accepting pucks and accelerating from a standstill which makes him ultimately easy to catch and block off. Back in Florida, he was constantly moving his feet because of the continuous flow of play that run & gun offers, so his skating issues weren’t as readily apparent.
Short Term Solution: In terms of a short term solution, to me, Mikael Backlund and Andrew Mangiapane would be the linemates I would play Huberdeau with. These 2 would hide his biggest weaknesses while at the same time, enhancing his greatest strengths. Backlund transitions on the rush with the highest pace among all Flames skaters. I think his ability to push the pace of play would benefit Huberdeau greatly, opening up more lanes, increasing time and space and allowing Flames’ defenders to activate and join the rush so Huberdeau can find the trailers.
Mangiapane on the other hand is one of the better finishers on the team and wins all kinds of puck battles he should have no business winning. That’s not a strength of Huberdeau, but are strengths for both Backlund and Mangiapane. He and Backlund can drive the cycle game which would also increase Hubderdeau’s possession time in the offensive zone which in theory should lead to more scoring opportunities.
Huberdeau isn’t just a rush scoring guy, he can be a “half court” type producer too, he just needs the right guys to play with. The only con with this trio would be matchups since Backlund is more of a shutdown guy who plays against opposition’s top lines. But it might ultimately be worth if it helps increase the team’s scoring output.
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