Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperMatt18
Yeah there was a lot of "OMG Treliving fleeced him" going on around the league when the trade happened.
|
There was a lot of that going around, but personally I never understood that. My position was always that Zito got the younger player who would be a franchise player for a much longer time for them. Given the Panthers cap situation, it seemed likely that they wouldn't be able to keep Huberdeau and Weegar long term unless they dumped some of their key players.
I always thought it was a great deal for the Panthers and took the wait and see approach for us. There was so much criticism of Huberdeau coming out of Florida at the time regarding his playoff performances, and after the trade I went back and read more about what fans said about him over the years and realized he was a pretty polarizing player among the media and fanbase. A lot of comments about lack of effort, unable to find chemistry with top line guys, and 5-on-5 production.
It was quite roller coaster ride. My initial reaction was great trade for Florida, and a little apprehensive for the Flames unless they could flip Huberdeau for someone younger or sign him. But then when they signed him, it was like making a monkey paw wish. Not a guy you give that much money too. I never thought his production would fall off like it did obviously, I don't think anyone did. But I never thought he was a driver either.