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Originally Posted by blankall
I'd say if anything we've seen the return of the offensive specialist. The kind of player that is allowed to focus on what they do best, scoring, and neglect other parts of their game. There are plenty of, often undersized, gifted offensive players getting 70%+ O zone starts, who likely can barely identify their own defensive zone.
There are also more than just run and gun and two way coaching styles available. Successful teams have good offensive plays and play to their players strengths. That can mean any number of styles: slowing down the game, cycling, fast breaks, bombs from the slot, etc... At the end of the day you do need some kind of game plan and playmaking ability.
The Flames seem to have no game plan. It's like they just don't practice certain basic offensive plays. The trouble goes way beyond Huberdeau. You don't get one of the all time worst power plays because just one player isn't performing. That signifies you have zero upper end offensive ability and playmaking.
The players that are succeeding, Coleman, the Kadri line, Sharangovich, are doing so by working hard and slamming pucks at the net. That's great and all, but you need that plus the solid offensive plays to win.
It's not just Huberdeau that's underperforming. Lindholm and Mangiapane suck too. Basically anyone that relies on anything beyond simple jam to get points is going to suck on this team. Sharangovich may be an exception, but his game is all about and elite shot, not any kind of playmaking.
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No, I don’t agree with the idea of the offensive specialist, to me that’s a PP specialist. If you want to play in today’s game, you have to be effective at even strength, which means you can’t be a liability out there like a Nail Yakupov.
In terms of style of play, yes you’re right, there are different styles available. But from what I saw from him in Florida, Huberdeau excelled specifically when the games opened up which also requires the other team to open themselves up as well. Not a lot of teams are willing to do that as often these days because it leaves themselves vulnerable for a counter attack. So that means games will naturally be tighter checking, So you’ll have to be able to make plays under duress, you have to able to read and react and make quick plays.
That’s where Huberdeau has gotten into trouble IMO, when he’s under duress, he tends to rush and make poor decisions. You’ll see him revert back to his Florida days from time to time making the odd spinning pass, but it just ends up being intercepted because tight checking games just aren’t as wide open. He has to be able to stay composed, read and react, take what the defense gives you and make the right play instead of forcing difficult passes through sticks and bodies just because it’s easier. Sometimes it might also involve taking a hit to the make the play and that might be something he needs to incorporate more often.
I also wouldn’t say that those guys you mentioned are just having success by just slamming pucks at the night. That’s not really fair for guys like Zary and Sharangovich who are younger players having to adjust to new situations or even a new league and yet are thriving. Why is it that a rookie like Zary able to thrive in this situation/system while a seasoned veteran like Huberdeau cannot?
It’s also not fair because most of these players thrived under the previous coaching staff and system that won their division the season prior. Almost 90% of that 50 win team was brought back and yet it was Huberdeau who ended up sticking out like a sore thumb all of last season.
So many posters here were 100% convinced that Darryl was the root cause to Huberdeau’s problems. With Darryl and Muller gone, the same problems persist despite a new coach and new systems. Explain to me how Huberdeau is doing even worse this season with his kryptonite gone? Explain to me how he gets benched in the 3rd and the team comes back to win the game without him?
I just don’t understand how the blame can continue to circulate everyone else that’s around him when the answer is so obvious at this point. I’ll also say this which won’t be popular, but everyone on this team works their tails off to help this team. The constant blame his linemates and coaching staff schtick isn’t going to help Huberdeau’s current standing in that dressing room. I don’t know if the players or team staff read these comments or not, but all it takes is one connected friend, one family member, one spouse and if it’s being relayed back to me that I’m the one that can’t handle a simple pass, can’t finish, have no offensive creativity and etc. I would start to sour on that $10M + teammate who out earns me by a long shot and sits 11th in team scoring. So I think people should cool it with the blame everyone else schtick before #10 is alienated by everyone in that locker room.