Chucky on Spittin Chiclets: "...Sutter wasn't there yet; I was still playing in OT"

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by memphusk

Hes still young. He will figure it out.

He might.

[cam_calderon]

As my sig says, I'm definitely in the Tkachuk fan club. But to be honest, I'm not sure he'll ever play a selfless game.

[btimbit]

I'll still always love Tkachuk, he's old school but more importantly, he's entertaining.

[Vinny01]

Great article in the Athletic today from Julien going through the trade interviewing all the key players, managers and Allan Walsh.

[Erick Estrada]

Yeah I thought that was a pretty good read. I liked the part about Treliving cracking a beer in his office when things were finalized. That had to be the most stressful and eventful week of his life.

[blender]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Undeniable? I think it's pretty debatable at best. IMO, Huberdeau is a better player, and I would have said that (did say that) last year.

In fact, I am pretty sure there were discussions about the best players in the league on CP last year, and the general consensus was that Huberdeau and Gaudreau were in the top tier (take your pick as to who you like better), and Tkachuk landed somewhere in the next tier. I would suggest that would be generally agreed upon, league-wide.

If you want to suggest that a dozen games changes that, knock yourself out. But I strongly disagree.

Well, the Athletic (not a fan message board) did a player tiers earlier this season based in a combination of analytics and old-fashioned scouting reports and Tkachuk was in a higher tier than Huberdeau, so I don't agree with your suggestion that Huberdeau is considered a higher-tier player than Tkachuk league-wide. I'd say the exact opposite is more likely to be true.

But I'm not here to knock Huberdeau. He is an outstanding player.

[blender]

Originally Posted by dino7c

I don't think the Flames minus Huberdeau and Weegar while adding Tkachuk are a better team at all.

Seems like the Panthers are worse too

I never said a word about the team being better or worse. Just that he would be their best player.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by blender

Well, the Athletic (not a fan message board) did a player tiers earlier this season based in a combination of analytics and old-fashioned scouting reports and Tkachuk was in a higher tier than Huberdeau, so I don't agree with your suggestion that Huberdeau is considered a higher-tier player than Tkachuk league-wide. I'd say the exact opposite is more likely to be true.

But I'm not here to knock Huberdeau. He is an outstanding player.

Yes, I saw that one. And that is the only one I have seen where Tkachuk was ranked higher than Huberdeau

[Yikes]

Originally Posted by blender

Well, the Athletic (not a fan message board) did a player tiers earlier this season based in a combination of analytics and old-fashioned scouting reports and Tkachuk was in a higher tier than Huberdeau, so I don't agree with your suggestion that Huberdeau is considered a higher-tier player than Tkachuk league-wide. I'd say the exact opposite is more likely to be true.

But I'm not here to knock Huberdeau. He is an outstanding player.

Hmmm, I like Bennett and because of that I watched as much of the Panthers as I could. I didn't pay alot of attention to Weegar but Huberdeau is amazing. Myself, I would never have traded Huberdeau straight up for Tkachuk. Huberdeau may not fit here...it would be a shame.

[blender]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Yes, I saw that one. And that is the only one I have seen where Tkachuk was ranked higher than Huberdeau

So I just spent a few minutes scrolling through some player rankings and have to agree the majority do have Huberdeau higher, although often not by much.
Obviously we have yet to see the best of Huberdeau as a Flame. Hopefully he changes my mind!

[1qqaaz]

I appreciate Tkachuk's candidness. He was usually one of the better interviews while he was a Flame. It's rare, and nice, when NHL players actually have personality.
But he definitely does seem to be the president of his own fan club.

[mile]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article...o-face-flames/

It’s easy to speculate, especially after a recent interview on Spittin’ Chiclets where a few off-hand comments by Tkachuk suggest he wasn’t keen on playing for Darryl Sutter, who immediately slashed the forward's ice time upon arrival.

Despite being known as one of hockey’s chief antagonists, Tkachuk isn’t interested in thickening that plot.

“I’m a player, I would never worry or, quite frankly, care about our relationship,” said Tkachuk, who will face his former club for the first time Saturday in Sunrise, Fla.

“Maybe at the start I wasn’t playing good and probably didn’t deserve as much (ice time). I wouldn’t read too much into that.”

Regardless of their Christmas card status, Tkachuk recognizes he certainly benefited under Sutter, as he switched the left winger to the right side where he shattered career highs with 42 goals and 104 points as part of the NHL’s most dominant line alongside Elias Lindholm and Johnny Gaudreau.

Sutter’s influence helped play a role in Tkachuk cashing in on an eight-year, $76 million US deal.

That’s a lot of golf carts.

“We had some success last year, he got some good things out of us as players,” agreed Tkachuk.

“I definitely had a good year under him last year. The year before I did not, and our team did not.”

So, what did he read into Sutter’s training camp shot?

You know, when the coach responded to being asked the difference between top line replacement Tyler Toffoli and Tkachuk by saying, “One guy’s won Stanley Cups, been a big part of long playoff runs.”

“I don’t really read anything into it -- I’m sure other people can spend their time doing that, but I don’t waste my time doing that,” said a decidedly chill Tkachuk from his Florida home.

“He’s probably just sticking up for the guy who’s on his team. He’s not going to say the guy on his team isn’t better. I don’t think any coach would do that.”