What to do with Huberdeau?

[dammage79]

Time to worry about Huberdeau IMO, is after next season.

I don't know if this season should count. It's not pretty but absolutely nobody would have imagined these kinds of production struggles. No. Body.

Huberdeaus body of work over his entire career says this shouldn't be happening at all. So what's the problem?

Possible explanations:
Trade sewered his mind.
Pressure of trying to be the leader of the new team and justifying his new contract.
Play style is square peg round hole type stuff.

I'll take all of the above. He's going to have to sort that out in the off-season and get back to normal.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

I am a bit curious how much Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk were playing the system last year vs just kind of going a bit rogue.

The rest of team last year outside of the top line looked like and produced pretty much identical stats to the way the team is playing this year.

The top line last year was the exception to the system and I do wonder how much might have been those guys going "Screw it - contract year". It really does seem like Tkachuk didn't think much of Sutter, his comments about Maurice being "the best coach I've ever played for" were pretty much a tell. Gaudreau hasn't really ever said much about Sutter.

Last year without the top line on the ice at 5v5:

Corsi For: 54.8% xGF%:53.1% GF%: 49.2% Shooting %: 6.33% SV%: .921

This year without Huberdeau:

Corsi For: 56.4% xGF: 54.1% GF%: 51.2% Shooting %: 7.93% SV%: .897

Really it's the top line that somehow bucked the trend of what Sutter's system is doing. Everyone else is high corsi, high shots, no finish, and biggest problem is this year no goaltending either.

A Sutter team with a line gone rogue for an entire season?

That's not one I'm buying.

Look Matthew Tkachuk appears to be the real deal ... Gaudreau getting points on a bad Jackets team. The Flames lost two special players and now don't have the skill or chemistry to get it done.

Huberdeau is a great complimentary player that hasn't found a player to compliment.

I don't buy the lazy argument ... I see a player that cares so much he's screwing himself into the ice. He needs a mental reset, and hopefully an offseason without a trade gets him confident and right for next season.

[CanucksWorstNightmare]

Trade for his buddy Anthony Duclair , he is a sniper (scored 30 last year) and has the speed to carry the puck up the ice.

The Florida Panthers have $4,898,555 put away on LTIR and only 2.85 million in cap space. The return of both Patrik Hornqvist and Anthony Duclair is looming. It appears that the team needs to make a trade.

Panthers GM Bill Zito and Flames GM Brad Treliving have a bit of a working history. “A bit” might be understating it. Between Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett, the Panthers have been a landing spot for high-profile Flames players of late.

Flames media is abuzz with the notion of acquiring Jonathan Huberdeau’s former linemate, Anthony Duclair. There’s some sense to it. They have proven chemistry, Duclair has proven he can be a left-shot right wing with Huberdeau, Duclair’s speed plays an essential role in helping Jonathan’s patient style along.

There lies the problem. The guy had his Achilles tendon surgically repaired during the offseason after a training incident. Is it a good bet that the 27-year-old is ready to help in the immediate future?

Duclair had 31 goals and 27 assists last season on Huberdeau’s line. He’s signed through next season at a three million dollar annual average value.


GET ER DONE BRAD!!!

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

People keep blaming Sutter but (as I posted in another thread) there are half a dozen or more guys on pace to have career years offensively or very close to it.

When Toffoli, Kadri, Lindholm, Coleman, Dube, Backlund, Zadorov, Andersson and others are on pace for their best or second best season offensively this year, and guys like Gaudreau and Tkachuk scored over 100 points last season, it becomes entirely evident that people who blame Sutter’s coaching for a lack of offence are doing so because they want to, not because the evidence points that direction.

Whatever the problem is, it’s Huberdeau’s to figure out. Why is he so special that he gets excused for not producing when everybody else has managed to produce well under Sutter?

This is possibly the most accurate rebuttal to the Sutter detractors that I've seen to date.

Work hard and manage the puck is about the two most basic things that you have to do under Sutter. If this is too much for Huberdeau, than we are in big trouble as a franchise moving forward as his 10+M AAV is going to cripple the team if all he's giving you is 15G and 60P.

Even at that rate, none of this explains at all how terrible he has been on the PP (and OT) - an area I expected him to be completely dominant as a high skill, creative player.

[Muta]

Would love to see a line of Pelletier-Huberdeau-Duclair (if Duclair can play RW), would be fun.

[MillerTime GFG]

Originally Posted by Bingo

A Sutter team with a line gone rogue for an entire season?

That's not one I'm buying.

Look Matthew Tkachuk appears to be the real deal ... Gaudreau getting points on a bad Jackets team. The Flames lost two special players and now don't have the skill or chemistry to get it done.

Huberdeau is a great complimentary player that hasn't found a player to compliment.

I don't buy the lazy argument ... I see a player that cares so much he's screwing himself into the ice. He needs a mental reset, and hopefully an offseason without a trade gets him confident and right for next season.

Define "real deal" though. Chucky seems to have no issue putting up points in the regular season, that's for sure. But let's not forget how invisible he could be in the playoffs, including vs. Edmonton. Same goes for Johnny.

We lost two special regular season players. This franchise was in a tough spot with them, and we're in a tough spot without them.


I was very vocal about the Flames being better off without those two guys, but trying to patch the holes like we did has turned out likely to be worse. Full disclosure - I really liked the Chucky trade up front, but I get the benefit of hindsight, whereas Tre does not.


This team does not have enough skill...plain and simple. And we're stuck with these big contracts for years. We are going to be mediocre (or worse) for seasons to come.

[Ozy_Flame]

Personally I think a coaching change and getting good bodies to play with Huberdeau is the next logical step.

If I'm Tre, I take a flyer on Tanner Jeannot if he's available from the Preds. Big, reliable, and put up 40 points last season playing wing. He's having a down year on a cheap expiring contract so perhaps there is some opportunity for a "show me" extension, and I would suspect his trade value isn't at a premium. He's also a great shot blocker, and from Saskatchewan too (so he might be motivated to play closer to home).

I think Hubes needs someone to clear room like Jeannot. He seems to be struggling getting in-close with opposing players when stickhandling or trying to do attack zone passes.

One more thing - Hubes needs to shoot more. Stop passing. His generosity has causes problems this season.

[Northendzone]

last season it seems like almost everythign went right for the flames during the regular season. Two guys putting up career numbers, markstom being a rock, vladar emerging and hardly any injuries.

This year, not much is going right.

i think the flames should stand pat at the trade deadline, or perhaps sell something off and then try to do something in the off season and hopefully the off-season some guys can work with their performance coaches and show us who/what they are

Would have been interesting to see what interest and offers Hubes would have generated as a UFA coming off this season had he not been locked up by the flames

[Saqe]

Originally Posted by CanucksWorstNightmare

Trade for his buddy Anthony Duclair , he is a sniper (scored 30 last year) and has the speed to carry the puck up the ice.

The Florida Panthers have $4,898,555 put away on LTIR and only 2.85 million in cap space. The return of both Patrik Hornqvist and Anthony Duclair is looming. It appears that the team needs to make a trade.

Panthers GM Bill Zito and Flames GM Brad Treliving have a bit of a working history. “A bit” might be understating it. Between Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett, the Panthers have been a landing spot for high-profile Flames players of late.

Flames media is abuzz with the notion of acquiring Jonathan Huberdeau’s former linemate, Anthony Duclair. There’s some sense to it. They have proven chemistry, Duclair has proven he can be a left-shot right wing with Huberdeau, Duclair’s speed plays an essential role in helping Jonathan’s patient style along.

There lies the problem. The guy had his Achilles tendon surgically repaired during the offseason after a training incident. Is it a good bet that the 27-year-old is ready to help in the immediate future?

Duclair had 31 goals and 27 assists last season on Huberdeau’s line. He’s signed through next season at a three million dollar annual average value.


GET ER DONE BRAD!!!

The Panthers won't activate Hornqvist until the playoffs, maybe not even then. He had two consecutive concussions so they can easilty LTIR him and use whatever loopholes exist if needed.

And I don't see teams wanting Duclair until they see him come back plus if he lights it up, the less incentive the Panthers have to move him (plus he's on a great contract). I was spitballing earlier Kylington for Duclair (the Panthers desperately need a D) but that's not happening obviously.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

People keep blaming Sutter but (as I posted in another thread) there are half a dozen or more guys on pace to have career years offensively or very close to it.

When Toffoli, Kadri, Lindholm, Coleman, Dube, Backlund, Zadorov, Andersson and others are on pace for their best or second best season offensively this year, and guys like Gaudreau and Tkachuk scored over 100 points last season, it becomes entirely evident that people who blame Sutter’s coaching for a lack of offence are doing so because they want to, not because the evidence points that direction.

Whatever the problem is, it’s Huberdeau’s to figure out. Why is he so special that he gets excused for not producing when everybody else has managed to produce well under Sutter?

The coach has publicly insulted him ("well he is the best passer the organization has ever seen"), publicly embarrassed him ("he had to take a ****) and publicly called out his character ("Now Lindholm is playing with guys he likes"). The coach also sets the lines and had him playing with a 13th forward for a month. Huberdeau is a possession, set it up and make plays player, while Sutter just wants poor quality shots on net. The winning teams play a possession game in the NHL, while desperate teams just put pucks on net, Sutter is not coaching to get the best out of his (supposedly) best player.

We could also look at players who have taken steps backwards under Sutter, Sutter's terrible deployment of the forward lines, Sutter's decisions around starting goaltenders, the teams pitiful power play and lack of discipline, the fact that the team does not play with pace, is not physical, refusal to play young players. Those are all obvious while we can also see signs of poor chemistry, lack of emotion, poor communication between staff/ players, a rift between management and the coach, I mean the list goes on. That's why Sutter is to blame over Huberdeau.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Try to get teammates for him where he has some familiarity.

acquiring Duclair would make a lot of sense. He’s what we need. A middle 6 LW/RW that can skate well, score goals here and there, and had chemistry with our soon-to-be 10.5m winger.

[CalgaryFan1988]

Overall I wonder if people are more disappointed in Huberdeau, Markstrom, Treliving, or Sutter.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

People keep blaming Sutter but (as I posted in another thread) there are half a dozen or more guys on pace to have career years offensively or very close to it.

When Toffoli, Kadri, Lindholm, Coleman, Dube, Backlund, Zadorov, Andersson and others are on pace for their best or second best season offensively this year, and guys like Gaudreau and Tkachuk scored over 100 points last season, it becomes entirely evident that people who blame Sutter’s coaching for a lack of offence are doing so because they want to, not because the evidence points that direction.

Whatever the problem is, it’s Huberdeau’s to figure out. Why is he so special that he gets excused for not producing when everybody else has managed to produce well under Sutter?

I wouldn't include Kadri or Lindholm on that list, or Backlund either. Yes for Andersson and probably Toffoli; you can make a case for Dube and/or Coleman but I wouldn't say they've had any sort of breakthrough year this year. Zadorov has 13 points, which doesn't move the needle at all.

To be clear, I don't think Sutter's purely to blame and I'm confident he'll eventually figure out how to get Huby going.

[Sec214]

After sleeping on it.

We still suck.

SELL SELL SELL
FIRE SALE!
SELL SELL SELL

When do we start to be Huberdeau like we did JG13

[The Yen Man]

I'm going to chalk this up to a transition year for Huberdeau. If he still looks this bad next year, then I'll start to worry. I feel like Huberdeau / Weegar coming to Calgary was a pretty big shock to what they're used to. You're going from a warm climate where fans don't really give a crap about the on ice product to all of a sudden dark and cold winters where every move on the ice is criticized by media and armchair GMs.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Sec214

After sleeping on it.

We still suck.

SELL SELL SELL
FIRE SALE!
SELL SELL SELL

When do we start to be Huberdeau like we did JG13

Sell what?

Two rentals Lucic and Stone!

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Derek Sutton

The coach has publicly insulted him ("well he is the best passer the organization has ever seen"), publicly embarrassed him ("he had to take a ****) and publicly called out his character ("Now Lindholm is playing with guys he likes"). The coach also sets the lines and had him playing with a 13th forward for a month. Huberdeau is a possession, set it up and make plays player, while Sutter just wants poor quality shots on net. The winning teams play a possession game in the NHL, while desperate teams just put pucks on net, Sutter is not coaching to get the best out of his (supposedly) best player.

We could also look at players who have taken steps backwards under Sutter, Sutter's terrible deployment of the forward lines, Sutter's decisions around starting goaltenders, the teams pitiful power play and lack of discipline, the fact that the team does not play with pace, is not physical, refusal to play young players. Those are all obvious while we can also see signs of poor chemistry, lack of emotion, poor communication between staff/ players, a rift between management and the coach, I mean the list goes on. That's why Sutter is to blame over Huberdeau.

Most of this is made up nonsense that goes against actual results and the eye test, so why should anyone take this seriously?

You “could” make a list of players who have taken steps backwards under Sutter, but you didn’t, probably because most of those players also experienced their best season under Sutter.

He refuses to play young players, meanwhile Ruzicka is a full timer and Pelletier is on the second line.

He has terrible deployment of the forward lines, but the majority of the top 9 are having career years offensively.

Your list of “obvious” is primarily subjective noise, and it’s hard to buy the armchair psychological assessment you’re selling.

Huberdeau is not producing. That’s his fault. It’s a harder truth to accept because dealing with that problem is a hell of a lot harder than dealing with a bad coach, but it is what it is. I’m confident he’ll come out of it, but he’s in it because of Huberdeau and no one else, and no amount of blaming Sutter for not playing Pelletier enough is going to turn Huberdeau into a producer.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Sell what?

Two rentals Lucic and Stone!

It won’t happen, but retaining on Lindholm and Hanifin could get us brilliantly set up to make use of a very deep draft. GMs in the NHL are rarely this agile though.

The Flames should take this season, and the history of their last number of seasons and realize “oh, we aren’t consistent because we aren’t a good team”. I’ll be happily surprised if they do go through that level of honest assessment.

[flamesgod]

Originally Posted by Muta

Would love to see a line of Pelletier-Huberdeau-Duclair (if Duclair can play RW), would be fun.

So who's playing centre?

[Lanny_McDonald]

Coaches and the style they force the team to play have no bearing on player success. It is strictly up to the player to figure it out. Ask Trevor Lawrence. Can you imagine trading for Tom Brady and Julian Edelman and then implementing a run game offensive plan? How much success would you think you have versus how much potential success do you leave on the table?