What to do with Huberdeau?

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Not a guy that would get it done in the playoffs and get a team deep. Button hooks etc. Not committed to fitness.

No team can be carried by one player, let alone a 160 lb one. Again, we come back to not surrounding what our best players with more talent, and scapegoating them when it doesn’t work out.

[Teroy]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

I agree with an earlier take. The guy makes one or two genius passes a game. If someone could actually put half of those in the net, we'd be ignoring his warts (and winning hockey games).

No we wouldn't. One or two a game doesn't cut it. He regularly coughs up the puck, makes "poor decision and lousy passes". The guy has become a disaster.

I think Lindholm may have a personal vendetta against him, and purposely shoots wide of open nets in these situations.

Say what? You've got to be kidding. Do you even watch the games?

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

Isn't Mangiapane playing with Lindholm?

Yes, and?

To me the top line is the one centreed by the best centre on the team, or at least the line expected to produce the most goals.

Out of necessity or circumstance, none of Calgary's lines fit that bill, but I don't think anyone would guess that a Backlund centred line, with Coleman as the RW, is supposed to be "the top line". Or are you saying whatever line Huberdeau is on is supposed to be the top line?

[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

More than wishful thinking. I think the only way the Panthers take on this salary is the Flames retain at 50% and we get nothing back. That's how bad it is. We might even have to offer a 1st ala Monahan to Montreal to absorb the salary.

Yeah probably

Just thinking he was quite successful there and like the Flames, they have tons of cap space next year and actually have some key players to compete


But only way is if the the Flames eat up tons of salary and make him like a 5M player instead of 10M

[HighLifeMan]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

BS. He didn’t play with superstars in Florida. He should make his linemates better, not worse. A superstar who is only good with other superstars isn’t a superstar themselves. They’re a complimentary piece. And you don’t pay complimentary pieces $10.5m a season.

Not to mention those same players look fine when not with Huberdeau. It’s insane anyone would blame this on his linemates..

Yeah. I don't buy that. The reality simply could be that maybe, just maybe Huberdeau isn't a fit with what we are doing here specifically, and with the current personal we have tried him alongside of. He has a long enough history of success in this league alongside multiple head coaches and varieties of skillsets to think that's he is the sole problem.

Anthony Duclair has scored at a 14 goal pace since his departure from Huberdeau. This is after scoring at a 34 goal pace with him the prior year.

Sam Bennett has scored at a 20 goal pace since his departure from Huberdeau. This is after scoring at a 32 goal pace with him the prior year.

Mike Hoffman scored at a 35 goal pace over two years with Huberdeau as his linemate. He hasn't scored more than 17 goals over the past four seasons since.

Evgency Dadonov scored at a 30 goal pace for three consecutive seasons alongside Huberdeau. He hasn't broken 20 goals since leaving Florida.

Overall
This team lacks creativity.
This team lacks speed in transition.
This team lacks finish.
This team can't get to the middle of the ice with any regularity.
These are all areas that significantly impact Huberdeau's skillset.

He isn't going anywhere. The only solution is to continue to try and find players that can and will succeed alongside him, and to fix our completely inept PP. He has not been tried with the likes of Zary, Coronato, Ruzicka, Pospisil, or Sharangovich yet.

[dustygoon]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Yes, and?

To me the top line is the one centreed by the best centre on the team, or at least the line expected to produce the most goals.

Out of necessity or circumstance, none of Calgary's lines fit that bill, but I don't think anyone would guess that a Backlund centred line, with Coleman as the RW, is supposed to be "the top line". Or are you saying whatever line Huberdeau is on is supposed to be the top line?

I might be missing something, but i think you both are agreeing. Lindholm is top line (technically was the word used i think?) which i think too and which is where Mang is.

It was said by Sec that Mang isn't happy being off the Backlund line where he had success in the past. Not sure if true, but makes sense to put him back there. Kick huberdeau to a different line and put Mang back with Backlund/Coleman.

[dino7c]

I'm not suggesting Huberdeau is playing great but he has setup at least 10+ empty net tap ins that were missed

One last game

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

yeah no kidding, the panthers didn't want him in the first place.

This isn't true, they would have extended him if Tkachuk didn't request a trade

I think you could move him at 50% easily, that is a lot of cap to eat though

[Macho0978]

I think we just need to trade Lindholm and then re-evaluate. Lindholm and Huberdeau aren't working. Huberdeau probably will struggle this year even after the trade. Next year we need a center with speed to play with him. Hopefully we draft someone high end too.

[HighLifeMan]

Originally Posted by Macho0978

I think we just need to trade Lindholm and then re-evaluate. Lindholm and Huberdeau aren't working. Huberdeau probably will struggle this year even after the trade. Next year we need a center with speed to play with him. Hopefully we draft someone high end too.

It's funny. Lindholm has been a complete blackhole at five on five without Huberdeau this season. In fact, Lindholm has basically dragged every single teammate of his down from a play driving standpoint this year.

I agree. He needs to be the first one to go. His play clearly indicates he has one foot out of the door already.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by HighLifeMan

It's funny. Lindholm has been a complete blackhole at five on five without Huberdeau this season. In fact, Lindholm has basically dragged every single teammate of his down from a play driving standpoint this year.

I agree. He needs to be the first one to go. His play clearly indicates he has one foot out of the door already.

I am soooooooo glad the Flames didn't bite on his ask

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by dino7c

This isn't true, they would have extended him if Tkachuk didn't request a trade

I think you could move him at 50% easily, that is a lot of cap to eat though

Doesn't even make sense to move him at 50%. 5 million bucks gets you a 40-50 point guy, so you end up in the same spot. The only way it would make sense is if the Flames have a cheap top 6 in the future and need 5 million dollars for defence but that is a ways off.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

Isn't Mangiapane playing with Lindholm?

Sorry, I had your post wrong - I thought you were saying Huberdeau was on the top line (I just read it too fast).

I actually have no clue what the first line is these days between Kadri and Lindholm. Kadri is acting more like a first line centre than Lindholm though.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

BS. He didn’t play with superstars in Florida. He should make his linemates better, not worse. A superstar who is only good with other superstars isn’t a superstar themselves. They’re a complimentary piece. And you don’t pay complimentary pieces $10.5m a season.

Not to mention those same players look fine when not with Huberdeau. It’s insane anyone would blame this on his linemates.

Even if we bought into this theory for a second, his linemates aren’t the worst in the league. But his contract sure is. Even with mediocre linemates he should still be way, way better than he is.

I think we should introduce Huberdeau to that eat my pubes poster from a while back. Maybe he can maximize his potential.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by AFireInside

Kadri wasn't good until he got the right linemates, now he seems like a different player, so why is Huberdeau different? Why not try Zary or Yegor with Huberdeau for a few periods. Zary is playing well with Kadri, maybe it'll be even better with Huberdeau, or maybe it will be worse, but it's not really a big deal to give it a try. Sharangovich seems like he's finding his game despite his linemates so I don't see any harm in trying him with Huberdeau either.

Kadri's "not being good" was different than Huberdeau's, IMO. Even when Kadri wasn't good, you could still see the spark. His issue was that he was trying to do everything himself and wasn't using his line mates well. He was noticeable good ways, but also just too noticeable in bad ways. It was frustrating, but at least there was reason for hope. Now that he has the line mates he does, who seem to follow his lead, he has been a lot more effective.

With Huberdeau, you rarely ever see a spark. There is just very little there to give you hope. As Pinder said, he's just a guy out there. He has been less of a liability in general lately, but still not usually noticeable in a good way.

[aiy_yah]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Doesn't even make sense to move him at 50%. 5 million bucks gets you a 40-50 point guy, so you end up in the same spot. The only way it would make sense is if the Flames have a cheap top 6 in the future and need 5 million dollars for defence but that is a ways off.

Flames cannot retain 50% as almost 74% of his cap is in signing bonuses. His salary averages to $2.8125 mil while ranging from $1 M to $3.5 mil until it goes up to $5.5 mil in the last year - presumably to make that last year easier to trade with retention or to buy out(?).

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by HighLifeMan

It's funny. Lindholm has been a complete blackhole at five on five without Huberdeau this season. In fact, Lindholm has basically dragged every single teammate of his down from a play driving standpoint this year.

I agree. He needs to be the first one to go. His play clearly indicates he has one foot out of the door already.

His play this season is sabotaging his free agency payday. Teams with interest in him in the offseason will most certainly look at his body of work but they will also have been scouting him this season and I don't know how a scout can go back to his GM and say "we have to get this guy" based on the way he's playing right now. It's going to be really interesting to see what he ends up getting in July as there will be some teams in need of centers that will certainly have interest.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by aiy_yah

Flames cannot retain 50% as almost 74% of his cap is in signing bonuses. His salary averages to $2.8125 mil while ranging from $1 M to $3.5 mil until it goes up to $5.5 mil in the last year - presumably to make that last year easier to trade with retention or to buy out(?).

That doesn't matter when it come to retention. The signing bonus is still salary. The signing bonus matters on buyouts and makes them much worse

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by Bonded

I am soooooooo glad the Flames didn't bite on his ask

The Flames already tried to throw money at him like drunken sailors. They gave him really a substantial offer, probably would have been an overpay. The Flames are incredibly fortunate they don't have another 2 crazy contracts on the books already and in further contract hell.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Igottago

The Flames already tried to throw money at him like drunken sailors. They gave him really a substantial offer, probably would have been an overpay. The Flames are incredibly fortunate they don't have another 2 crazy contracts on the books already and in further contract hell.

I’d still have been fine with the rumoured Hanifin contract personally but I still think you’d be able to trade him with it.