With his cap hit there are obviously going to be massive expectations. Him and his agent undoubtedly sat in Treliving's office, looked him in the eye and made their case that he would be a franchise-type player they could build around, be a dynamic gamebreaker and a superstar player to go up against the best in the West. That is what 10.5M should get you. I personally don't buy that the blame is on his teammates, or lack thereof, of not finishing his passes. This is the NHL. Every single player makes nice passes each and every game. Almost all players can shoot. If other elite passers in the game can turn their "bum" linemates into goal scorers, for 10.5M, Huberdeau should be able to do the same.
Player's don't get to hide behind the veil of "I need 2 of these guys to live up to my cap hit". If that's the case, then maybe the discussion in BT's office should have been how before I sign on this dotted line, let's make sure I have the proper players around me. Lindholm, Mangiapane, Zary, etc are all good shooters and he has been tried with each. He has failed miserably.
I want the guy to succeed as much as anybody. But this is rough now. Very very rough.
Well he's never been that player. I
Mangiapane is not a good shooter, and Lindholm has been pretty mediocre for the last season and a half. Yegor is as close as we have. There's a reason the Flames might only have a couple guys who break 20 this year.
What elite passers in the game are playing with guys like Coleman or Backlund? I like Coleman a lot and I think he can be a 20 goal guy but it has nothing to do with having a good shot.
Look at Draisatl. He has just over double the points Huberdeau has. Half of his points are on the PP. How's the Flames PP doing this year? The flames are near the worst in the league. That isn't Huberdeaus fault, it's very clear our PP system is just plain awful.
He's made bad plays, he's made good plays just like Kadri has, this year the difference is Kadri has been lucky to be paired with Zary who's been very good.
Huberdeau needs to be way better but he's never ever going to elevate Coleman and Backlund to 30 goal players.
Huberdeau and Sharangovich should probably be given a look.
I'd say easily Sharangovich is the best fit to play with Huberdeau right now. He drives the center of the ice, is doing great at zone entries, and is looking to make those little one-two passing plays Huberdeau likes to make.
Sharangovich tried to make that play a couple times last night, twice in OT which stands out, but Kadri couldn't hit the pass each time.
Not sure who else to put with them but I do think those two need a look together.
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Conroy needs to go out and get a player or two that compliment his game. What worked for him in Florida?
We can't loose this guy and no one will take him, so why not give him the Steve Austin treatment, and surround him with his own A-Team?
I mean we haven't really tried that yet, even if it might take a couple of seasons to do it.
You would just end up tripling down on a bad investment by making other bad investments. The likely scenario is you still end up with a bad/mediocre team and you waste some trading opportunities that are better spent looking to the real future. Trading assets to help this guy get going is the worst possible thing the Flames could do. He's pretty much a sunk cost at this point (which is crazy to say in year 1 of his deal). You ride it out until there's some sort of option to unload him. Huberdeau should in no way dictate the overall future direction of this team.
__________________
A few weeks after crashing head-first into the boards (denting his helmet and being unable to move for a little while) following a hit from behind by Bob Errey, the Calgary Flames player explains:
"I was like Christ, lying on my back, with my arms outstretched, crucified"
-- Frank Musil - Early January 1994
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The man collected his money and plays in a location he doesn't like.
How come Weegar can adjust but not this guy?
If Huberdeau could carry the puck even one tenth as good as Weegar, most of his issues would go away.
Less is almost always more, and it applies to JH too.
Stop trying to paint a Rembrandt every time you enter the zone when macaroni art will do.
Stop forcing passes across the ice - shoot the puck at the net, as hard as you can. Anyone can do it with these 75-flex sticks.
Keep being physical. Nobody respects you anymore, Hubes. Put some fear back on your name. Truck a few fools. He’s been doing it, too - finishing checks, sending guys to the ice. Keep it up. Cheap shot someone if you must - whatever it takes make guys pause even half a second (and to get your own blood up).
Above all, keep showing up. It’s nearly impossible to get continually worse at something you show up and try to get better at every day. Especially when you’re already supremely gifted at it.
Infuse some more talent onto the roster, and it’ll work out in the end.
__________________ ”All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.”
Rowan Roy W-M - February 15, 2024
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You would just end up tripling down on a bad investment by making other bad investments. The likely scenario is you still end up with a bad/mediocre team and you waste some trading opportunities that are better spent looking to the real future. Trading assets to help this guy get going is the worst possible thing the Flames could do. He's pretty much a sunk cost at this point (which is crazy to say in year 1 of his deal). You ride it out until there's some sort of option to unload him. Huberdeau should in no way dictate the overall future direction of this team.
Overpaying Duclair or another play they think would get him on a two year contract would be fine. Definitely don't spend assets on doing it
Overpaying Duclair or another play they think would get him on a two year contract would be fine. Definitely don't spend assets on doing it
1 year $3.6M for Duclair.
He’s having as good a year as any other Shark - can’t see him costing more than a 6th.
Biggest reason to do it? Duclair also wears #10, so Huberdeau can make a big show of giving it up to him, and move on to a number that isn’t ####ing cursed.
__________________ ”All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.”
Rowan Roy W-M - February 15, 2024
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The Flames will have $3-4M available to fill a middle six forward next season. If the goal is to improve, may as well spend it on Duclair. If the goal is to tank, maybe not. But I doubt the goal will be to tank.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fotze
If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
He’s having as good a year as any other Shark - can’t see him costing more than a 6th.
Biggest reason to do it? Duclair also wears #10, so Huberdeau can make a big show of giving it up to him, and move on to a number that isn’t ####ing cursed.
This.
Huberdeau needs to change to 71. 10 is cursed in this organization and has been bad juju from the moment he choose it.
Conroy needs to go out and get a player or two that compliment his game. What worked for him in Florida?
We can't loose this guy and no one will take him, so why not give him the Steve Austin treatment, and surround him with his own A-Team?
I mean we haven't really tried that yet, even if it might take a couple of seasons to do it.
But then we are looking at trading assets to get those types of players. If it doesn't work, they'd be putting the team in a hole even further. At what point do we just cut the losses?
__________________
"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
He’s having as good a year as any other Shark - can’t see him costing more than a 6th.
Biggest reason to do it? Duclair also wears #10, so Huberdeau can make a big show of giving it up to him, and move on to a number that isn’t ####ing cursed.
What if it doesn't work? It is worth a try. Concerning as it seems like maybe Huberdeau doesn't want to be here. On one play last night the Flames were controlling the play in Vegas zone he loses the puck that was passed to him behind the net and it goes straight to the opposition player. Kind of hard for the team to win if one player is losing the battles.
If he doesn't want to be here the Flames should sit down with him and see what we can do about a trade. We might have to eat some salary but if we could get a half decent player back that might be a better way to go. He seems unhappy maybe he doesn't want to be here. Seems like a good guy though we should probably try to do what's best for the organization and for his sake.
Last edited by DazzlinDino; 12-13-2023 at 10:32 AM.
The Flames will have $3-4M available to fill a middle six forward next season. If the goal is to improve, may as well spend it on Duclair. If the goal is to tank, maybe not. But I doubt the goal will be to tank.
I think they have thrown in the towel. No smattering of UFAs will keep them competitive next year.
But then we are looking at trading assets to get those types of players. If it doesn't work, they'd be putting the team in a hole even further. At what point do we just cut the losses?
Overpay in UFA on short term deals or swap players like Mangiapane/Dube for players the pro scouts think are a better fit. Don't need to spend assets to do it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DazzlinDino
If he doesn't want to be here the Flames should sit down with him and see what we can do about a trade. We might have to eat some salary but if we could get a half decent player back that might be a better way to go. He seems unhappy maybe he doesn't want to be here. Seems like a good guy though we should probably try to do what's best for the organization and for his sake, unless he really wants to be here.
There is no trade for him that makes sense. Nurse would be about the only target for a bad contract swap. Retaining a million won't do much for his value and retaining 3-4 million doesn't make sense.
I had a lot of optimism for Huby coming into the season, but at this point it honestly looks like we are stuck with one of the worst contracts in NHL history.
All you can do is start the rebuild and hope the contract doesn’t hinder you too badly in 3-4 years.
The revisionist history in this thread about Huberdeau not being dynamic or a top winger in league while he was with Florida is ridiculous. Every single person in this forum was excited to hear that Huberdeau would be joining the Flames.
To jog y'all's memories:
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the different results. Unless Huska changes up the system and/or Conroy proactively finds/trades for players that could jive with Huberdeau, he will continue to flounder and be an awful contract.
If the options are to have an untradable player with an albatross of a contract or try to setup a former top3 winger in the league up for success by making changes that accommodate his style...the course of action seems to be as a clear as day.
Last edited by boogerz; 12-13-2023 at 12:03 PM.
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The revisionist history in this thread about Huberdeau not being dynamic or a top winger in league while he was with Florida is ridiculous. Every single person in this forum was excited to hear that Huberdeau would be joining the Flames.
To jog y'all's memories:
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results. Unless Huska changes up the system and/or Conroy proactively finds/trades for players that could jive with Huberdeau, he will continue to flounder and be an awful contract.
If the options are to have an untradable player with an albatross of a contract or try to setup a former top3 winger in the league up for success by making changes that accommodate his style...the course of action seems to be as a clear as day.
I've seen this video half a dozen times or so at this point and I'm gonna be honest, Huberdeau really doesn't look that impressive in it. Better than what we see today, for sure, but it seems like half his points come from broken plays that the Panthers quickly capitalize on and Huberdeau happens to find his way on the score sheet.
I know that's a simplification of what's really going on. I think it's a combination of natural decline and that he just wasn't that good to begin with.
The revisionist history in this thread about Huberdeau not being dynamic or a top winger in league while he was with Florida is ridiculous. Every single person in this forum was excited to hear that Huberdeau would be joining the Flames.
To jog y'all's memories:
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results. Unless Huska changes up the system and/or Conroy proactively finds/trades for players that could jive with Huberdeau, he will continue to flounder and be an awful contract.
If the options are to have an untradable player with an albatross of a contract or try to setup a former top3 winger in the league up for success by making changes that accommodate his style...the course of action seems to be as a clear as day.
My fav is the "Barkov carried him" nonsense
Barkov played 67 games and was outscored by Huberdeau by 30 points
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I've seen this video half a dozen times or so at this point and I'm gonna be honest, Huberdeau really doesn't look that impressive in it. Better than what we see today, for sure, but it seems like half his points come from broken plays that the Panthers quickly capitalize on and Huberdeau happens to find his way on the score sheet.
I know that's a simplification of what's really going on. I think it's a combination of natural decline and that he just wasn't that good to begin with.
You don't accidentally go over ppg 5 times lol
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