I love how Huska makes his players accountable. Sitting a vet to send a message is a good thing in my books. Hopefully we see more this when it comes to other vest on our team.
What really suck is...Huberdeau seems to be trying.
I was choked with Kadri because he pulls his 'Controller Disconnected' BS far too often.
Huberdeau really seems to be giving it an honest try. But tonight? Huberdeau was awful and Kadri was an unstoppable force.
But I personally dont feel its due to a lack of effort or will or drive, but its a results driven league.
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If you thought this season would have a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention.
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I see Connor Bedard is sitting at an underwhelming 7 points in 11 games. There's a guy who could really use a Jonathan Huberdeau on his wing until he turns 26.
Take the Jones contract back and plonk him in Hanifin's spot, move Hanifin for someone who has some offensive value, shuffle a few deck chairs to make it work, and hold on for the ride?
So, what do you we do? Change our team to fit Huberdeau (have the D pinch more aggressively) or do we find a way to change Huberdeau? I don't think the latter is possible with his age and the style of game he has developed into.
This video explains why our style of play doesn't fit him.
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Gaudreau and Huberdeau games are not similar at all
Johnny carries the puck and drive plays
Yeah, if Gaudreau doesn't see a pass option, he will dipsy doodle around for a bit to try and force a clear lane. With Huberdeau, he just tries to force a pass because he doesn't have the skating that Gaudreau has.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
Wow, really rough night for Huberdeau. Not surprising though as he was already in Huska’s dog house. That image of him at the end of the bench with his head down will be a tough one to forget. It’s the defeated look of a once proud athlete who literally has no answers anymore.
I’m as critical of Huberdeau as anyone here and I generally don’t feel too bad for millionaire athletes who play a game for a living. But I mean, the guy is still human and he clearly cares and is trying. But he has to feel like he’s in quicksand right now, him trying harder seems to only make things worse.
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Even tonight he had few chances to just shoot the damn puck... but held off and tried to thread a pass. There was one where Dube was in front of the net and, instead of getting shot off for a Dube rebound, he tried to thread it through to Dube, which failed.
It's such a large contract and very untradeable.... there has to be a combo of players that would work with him.
Can we pull Duclair from the Sharks?
Even tonight he had few chances to just shoot the damn puck... but held off and tried to thread a pass. There was one where Dube was in front of the net and, instead of getting shot off for a Dube rebound, he tried to thread it through to Dube, which failed.
It's such a large contract and very untradeable.... there has to be a combo of players that would work with him.
Can we pull Duclair from the Sharks?
This is a perfect example of why it isn't just a systems issue with Huberdeau. He makes poor decisions over and over. He never opts for the easy play even if it is staring him in the face. He'll always take the high risk pass through traffic, rather than chipping the puck forward or trying to maneuver around.
Even Brett Hull, one of the most one-dimensional players ever, was able to adjust to the trapping style of play that Dallas used and was productive.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
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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.
What really suck is...Huberdeau seems to be trying.
I was choked with Kadri because he pulls his 'Controller Disconnected' BS far too often.
Huberdeau really seems to be giving it an honest try. But tonight? Huberdeau was awful and Kadri was an unstoppable force.
But I personally dont feel its due to a lack of effort or will or drive, but its a results driven league.
Yeah this is what's been tough.
Kadri when engaged and trying has looked great as a Flame. His issue is he's had some moments where he looks like he's not cared or doesn't seem to be trying (that game against Chicago down the stretch last year is a perfect example).
That problem is easier to solve, just work harder.
Huberdeau is a completely different problem where it's not an effort issue. It's a "I'm no longer able to make high end hockey plays" problem and that's much harder to solve. How do you get this guy to remember he averaged 99 points per 82 games in the 4 seasons prior to being traded here, and put him in a position to leverage his skill set.
It's not an effort problem, it's not even a defensive issue as he's worked hard defensively, he's just been unable to make plays and generate any type of offense. And I'm not sure how you solve that.
First step is playing him with guys that drive the middle of the ice recklessly (ie Sam Bennett)
I wonder if there is any chance of the Calgary media and fan hype to swap Huby and Johnny? Huberdeau has been such a positive guy and tried very hard to stay that way but he is not working here. I feel like he needs the weight of Calgary lifted off his shoulders and get a fresh start. I have convinced myself a swap with the Jackets is the best for all parties involved.
I’m as critical of Huberdeau as anyone here and I generally don’t feel too bad for millionaire athletes who play a game for a living. But I mean, the guy is still human and he clearly cares and is trying. But he has to feel like he’s in quicksand right now, him trying harder seems to only make things worse.
You can feel bad for him but at the same time this is one of those moments where you grab the bull by the horns and fight your way through it, not hang your head. And if you still fail then so be it, that's life, happens all the time. But if his biggest problem is getting benched in a hockey game while making 84 million then I can show you about 8 billion people who would switch their problems with his. These kinds of "millionaire problems" don't even register in most part of the world.
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Yeah, if Gaudreau doesn't see a pass option, he will dipsy doodle around for a bit to try and force a clear lane. With Huberdeau, he just tries to force a pass because he doesn't have the skating that Gaudreau has.
I think he is more like Tkachuk with his fancy passes except Tkachuk is a master around the bet and shoot more
