Quote:
Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina
Didn't the Panthers do the same thing. They made significant changes to their team - and it led to a championship.
You make changes you think are good for your team. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.
Jonathan Huberdeau was coming off a season where he produced more assists than anyone else in the entire history of the NHL for a LWer.
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Huberdeau had led the team for almost a decade with virtually no real success. Barkov came in, took over the room and culture, and Huberdeau really started succeeding under no pressure. Then, with Barkov leading the charge, the team took in some playoff experience, and saw that Huberdeau wasn't really showing up in those big games. That's when they decided to pivot away from him.
We were forced to pivot away from two of our undisputed offensive drivers. The player we traded for Huberdeau was also a key playoff performer for us. Further, we also lost at the same time our real offensive player, RIP. Really, it would be like the Panthers trading Huberdeau and Barkov in the same season. If we'd lost just one we might be able to produce a similar on ice product. But both?!