The pressure on Flames forward to bounce back is not dissipating, and he can make that a good thing
Jonathan Huberdeau was forced to deal with the pressure of last summer’s trade to the Calgary Flames.
That pressure is not abating with how Matthew Tkachuk has dragged the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final.
It doesn’t matter the Flames added top-four defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt and a 2025 first-round draft pick in the blockbuster deal, Huberdeau will remain the centerpiece in Calgary.
Tkachuk has become a Conn Smythe Trophy favorite with the Panthers during their enthralling playoff run, topping his performance so far by scoring two overtime winning goals in the first two victories against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals and then the series-clincher with five seconds remaining in Wednesday’s Game 4 victory that completed the sweep.
Therefore, the scrutiny will remain high for Huberdeau, who must bounce back from a disappointing 55-point campaign.
That’s the tough news for Huberdeau to deal with as he prepares for a season in which his eight-year, US$84-million contract kicks in.
The good news for him, though, is the Flames — notably new general manager Craig Conroy — are cognizant of doing all they can for Huberdeau to rebound to the left winger who recorded four consecutive seasons well above one point per game, capped by the 115-point 2021-22 campaign. Rebuilding the confidence of the team’s highest-paid player will be near the top of the franchise’s to-do list before next season.
“Last season is last season, it’s gone,” Conroy said on Tuesday when he was named GM. “I’m never going to talk about it again. I want to see him bring that swagger back. I could see him downstairs and I’d talk to him and you felt like he felt bad. No, don’t feel bad. You know what? Bring that swagger. I could see towards the end of the year he had a little bit more jam on the ice and I was like ‘OK, it’s coming.’”
Certainly the Flames will bring in a new head coach who will work more with Huberdeau than he experienced during a season of tough-love from Darryl Sutter. As well, don’t expect the incoming bench boss to put Huberdeau on right wing — which was an ill-fated experiment.
That said, the onus is on Huberdeau to prove he is still an elite player. Regardless of the head coach, Huberdeau definitely must play with more pace and more determination. Whether it was from uncertainty of the system or lack of confidence, too often his playmaking and passing was a split-second too slow.
Just after the season, Huberdeau said of himself: “I didn’t lose my talent in five months. I’m not a different player from what I was last year. So, I think it’s just to think about everything. Maybe I’ve got to play a little different, too. You work on some stuff in the summer and come back. I know what kind of player I am. It’s been a tough year but it’s how you bounce back and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Unquestionably, the Calgary Flames will see a different Huberdeau next season, and it is a good bet he will bounce back, buoyed by no longer living under the spectre of Sutter’s acerbic ways.
That doesn’t mean the expectations placed upon Huberdeau in the Stampede City will decrease. It would help him to be motivated further by Tkachuk’s exploits.
