[News] Darryl Sutter out as Head Coach. Maloney presser at 11:30 AM MT

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

Huberdeau and Kadri were together the majority of the season.
It’s nice to blame their horrible season on Lucic and Sutter.

What a life

I'm not 100 percent sure how things work, but I have a hunch the head coach of a team might have a little say in line combinations.

Everyone with a healthy set of eyes could see that Huberdeau and Kadri were simply not clicking, yet Sutter persisted with the duo. People are not exonerating Huberdeau for the season he's had, but that doesn't change the fact that Sutter didn't use him correctly.

[Red_Baron]

Might as well give the "C" to Kadri. That should force a full rebuild and get us a top 3 draft pick in the next few years.

[Burning Beard]

Yeah let's just give all the biggest underachievers the letters. Surely rewarding them for the season they just had is the answer.

[devo22]

C - Backlund
A - some of Lindholm, Weegar, Andersson, Huberdeau

would be my picks. Dependent on Backs and Lindholm re-signing this offseason, of course ... otherwise I'd be happy with Weegar or Andersson getting the C too. Don't know how many As they'd want, but given they at least rotated for home/away games in the past, I wouldn't mind any of those wearing one.

[memphusk]

So these guys wanted out, but now they don't. Holding onto them sure has a country club feel. Ship them out. You wanted out. Seeya.

[Manhattanboy]

Huberdeau should be captain? Huberdeau should be traded.

Not my kind of player at all. But unfortunately Tre awarded a guy who had never played a single game with the worst contract in franchise history.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Huberdeau should be captain? Huberdeau should be traded.

Not my kind of player at all. But unfortunately Tre awarded a guy who had never played a single game with the worst contract in franchise history.

^ no he shouldn't. Not only is it pretty much impossible with that contract, it's also not exactly a smart thing to trade a player when his trade value is at an all-time low. What they should do is try to maximize their investment and put him in a position to succeed.

The Darryl apologists don't want to hear it, but a 115-point forward turned into a 55-point forward under his watch. That's neither completely on Sutter, nor completely on Huberdeau - but I have no doubt there's a much, much better player in there than what we saw last season. Let's uncover him.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by AustinL_NHL

All eyes are going to be on Huberdeau next season as it is. By far the most pressure-filled season of his career next year.

Slapping the "C" on his chest after literally the worst point drop off in NHL history sounds like a great idea

Yeah the guy already put so much pressure on himself to do well last season only to have a coach crater his season.

Now the pressure is on again with a new coach giving him the C just makes it worse even if he deserves it.

[Saqe]

Huberdeau was the longest tenured player on the Panthers and even they didn't make him captain. Instead went with Barkov who I don't think is a great choice either. That should say all you need to know.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by devo22

C - Backlund
A - some of Lindholm, Weegar, Andersson, Huberdeau

would be my picks. Dependent on Backs and Lindholm re-signing this offseason, of course ... otherwise I'd be happy with Weegar or Andersson getting the C too. Don't know how many As they'd want, but given they at least rotated for home/away games in the past, I wouldn't mind any of those wearing one.

I don't know about giving the C to a player on the last year of his deal who has requested a trade the past two offseasons. The futures of Lindholm and Backlund are uncertain. If by chance the season goes off the rails Backlund would likely be traded at the deadline and who knows if Lindholm is on the roster in October as I expect two or possibly three of the six pending UFA's to be dealt at the draft.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Saqe

Huberdeau was the longest tenured player on the Panthers and even they didn't make him captain. Instead went with Barkov who I don't think is a great choice either. That should say all you need to know.

Barkov was their franchise player and center so it kind of makes sense they would make him captain.

[SportsJunky]

Where is this "pressure" thing coming from? Last year he had to follow up on a record-setting 115 point season. Now that's pressure. This year he has to build on a 55 point season. I'm guessing he does that easily. If anything he's probably chomping at the bit to show what he is capable of.

[Saqe]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Barkov was their franchise player and center so it kind of makes sense they would make him captain.

That and he brings it every night. At that point I think Huberdeau would have also been considered a franchise player. But my point is Barkov is still a fairly controversial choice, mainly because he is such an introvert and shy.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I don't know about giving the C to a player on the last year of his deal who has requested a trade the past two offseasons. The futures of Lindholm and Backlund are uncertain. If by chance the season goes off the rails Backlund would likely be traded at the deadline and who knows if Lindholm is on the roster in October as I expect two or possibly three of the six pending UFA's to be dealt at the draft.

yup, that's why I said it's dependent on them re-signing this summer. I wouldn't give them a letter with a year left on their contract ... same goes for Tanev, who in general I wouldn't mind wearing a letter either.

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

Where is this "pressure" thing coming from? Last year he had to follow up on a record-setting 115 point season. Now that's pressure. This year he has to build on a 55 point season. I'm guessing he does that easily. If anything he's probably chomping at the bit to show what he is capable of.

plus he clearly wanted to come in and be the face of the franchise. I'd imagine a fresh start under a new regime and on the backheel of a terrible season, it's going to be an easier situation for him.

[Major Major]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

Where is this "pressure" thing coming from? Last year he had to follow up on a record-setting 115 point season. Now that's pressure. This year he has to build on a 55 point season. I'm guessing he does that easily. If anything he's probably chomping at the bit to show what he is capable of.

There is extreme pressure and building on a 55 pt season won't do it. If the flames miss the playoffs with huberdeau under ppg, I am afraid the heat in this market will be cranked to 11. World championship was a good spot for him to get some mojo back.

[Spurs]

The 155 point player label is a little disingenuous he scored that one season and was never closer to it at any point during his career.

Maybe it is Brunette that should get praise for turning a 55 point player into a 115 point player.

[InternationalVillager]

It's pretty apparent by some posters attitudes as to why this organization hasn't had much success. Such risk averse attitudes.

Everyone wants players to prove it and then reward them. In Huberdeau's case, its a C. Treliving wanted Tkachuk to prove his worth and signed him to a bridge deal. Look how that turned out. The world's changed. You have to work diligently and essentially manifest the future. You need to put players in a position to succeed.

You have to set a direction, envision the future and really believe in that plan. That's the only way it works.

Huberdeau has had 90+ points or over point per game 4 years (Age 25-28 seasons) in this league. He's a 3rd overall pick who is in the 1st year of a 8 year contract with the largest value in franchise history. Your success is essentially tied to his success. This is where I think Sutter went wrong. I don't think he ever believed that. This team is going to go as far as Huberdeau takes them so it's probably the best idea that they build around him. They should be reaching out to him (and I bet you they are) and having his input on the potential future coach and direction of the team- play style etc. They need to give him the C as a show of good faith that everyone is in this together. I think that is the only way you will be able to extract the best version of him as a player out on the ice.

Once that happens, everything else falls in line and you have a pecking order. Kadri should have an A for sure as well. Then you just go from there.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Saqe

Huberdeau was the longest tenured player on the Panthers and even they didn't make him captain. Instead went with Barkov who I don't think is a great choice either. That should say all you need to know.

I don’t think this is what you were going for, but what this actually says is that the Panthers weren’t the best judge of who is captain material. Saying “they didn’t make this guy captain, they made this other guy captain and it was a bad choice” is not something that makes the first guy look bad.

I don’t think Huberdeau has done much to earn that designation, but there are some pretty far reaches going on for why he definitely shouldn’t get it.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Spurs

The 155 point player label is a little disingenuous he scored that one season and was never closer to it at any point during his career.

Maybe it is Brunette that should get praise for turning a 55 point player into a 115 point player.

in the three seasons before that, he still had a pace of 92, 92 and 91. So no, Brunette didn't turn a 55 point player into a 115 point player.

[Spurs]

Originally Posted by devo22

in the three seasons before that, he still had a pace of 92, 92 and 91. So no, Brunette didn't turn a 55 point player into a 115 point player.

What were his actual totals?

And 92, 92, 91 aren't close to 115 so no he is as much a 55 point player as he is a 115 point player.