Tkachuk thrived under Paul Maurice while Huberdeau struggled and Darryl Sutter was fired
Tkachuk thrived under Paul Maurice while Huberdeau struggled and Darryl Sutter was fired
The blockbuster trade between the Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames that took place last summer has had a profound impact on both teams.
It may have happened nearly a year ago, but the ripple effect from the swapping of superstars is still being felt on opposite sides of two countries.
The trade saw Calgary send Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers in exchange for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt and a 2025 first-round pick.
Both Tkachuk, who was 24 at the time, and Huberdeau, who turned 29 in June, were coming off 100-point seasons, and Weegar was viewed as a top-pairing defenseman.
Tkachuk was set to be an unrestricted free agent while Huberdeau and Weegar were entering the final year of their respective deals, so the trade worked out in that regard.
All three have since signed long-term contracts to stay with their new teams for years to come.
Once the 2022-23 hockey season arrived, and the players got back on the ice to do what they do best, things have gone in different directions for both the players and their franchises.
Arriving in Florida, Tkachuk felt he was in a comfortable situation almost immediately while working with new Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice.
"I've loved every minute of it," Tkachuk said Tuesday from Toronto.
Tkachuk's style of play was a perfect match to what Maurice wanted from his players, particularly his aggressive, forechecking forwards.
Between his skill, his attitude and his work ethic, Maurice knew he had something special in Tkachuk.
"There's a maturity in this young man's game," Maurice said Tuesday. "He's a performer and he's a producer. He's also got an edge to him, and he's not he's not afraid to go in most places."
The durable young leader proved to be incredibly consistent in Maurice's systems.
Skating mostly on Florida's second line, and not with elite center Sasha Barkov, Tkachuk led the team with 109 points, a new career high.
He had slid onto Huberdeau's old team, on his old line with his former center (Sam Bennett) and saw immediate and lasting success.
When Huberdeau was in Florida, he was always given freedom to operate, to allow his creative nature to flow freely, and both he and his linemates thrived.
In Calgary it wasn’t so simple. Flames Head Coach Darryl Sutter asked Huberdeau to play a heavier game, a stricter game.
Earlier this week, Huberdeau spoke about his season and experience with Sutter during an interview, in French, with BPM Sports, a Montreal-based radio station.
"It really didn't click between me and Darryl last year," Huberdeau said, with Sportsnet providing the translation. "There were a lot of factors. There was a big difference in points between my last two years. And the style of play he wanted to play, it didn't fit my style of game."
Combine that with Sutter’s generally sparkling personality and outgoing nature, and the blemishes start to become more apparent.
There was also the situation with Huberdeau's agent, Allan Walsh, publicly criticizing Sutter on social media back in February.
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result," Walsh wrote. "Also, negativity sucks the joy right out of players."
Sutter and Huberdeau both brushed off the comments afterwards, but it was clear that things were not all peaches and cream in Calgary with their shiny new trade acquisition.
When the season ended, the Flames were out of the playoffs and Huberdeau had one of the worst statistical years of his career, dropping from a career-high 115 points during his last season in Florida to just 55 points in year one with Calgary.
Clearly, something had to change, as next season is when Huberdeau's eight-year extension kicks in that pays him an average annual value (AAV) of $10.5 million.
Fast forward to Monday, when Sutter was fired by Calgary, two weeks to the day after the team announced it had parted ways with General Manager Brad Treliving.
So both the coach and GM that were in place when the big trade was executed are no longer employed in Calgary less than ten months later.
"You’re supposed to put your players in a position to succeed, and I think this season he didn’t do that," Huberdeau said of Sutter.
It seems rather apparent that a fresh start might be just what the doctor ordered for Huberdeau in his new home.
Considering the time and coin the Flames are investing in Huby, it makes sense to think when Calgary chooses its next coach, that person will be someone they feel can put Huberdeau in a position to play to his strengths.
Anyone who has watched Huberdeau regularly during his career knows how good and special he can be. We saw it in South Florida for years.
"Having a new coach is going to help my game, and my confidence, too," Huberdeau said.
As for Tkachuk, he has already established a great working relationship with Maurice.
So far, the two have flourished, between Tkachuk's career season and the Panthers postseason success, which is a story that is still being written.
At least early on, the two appear to be a match made in hockey heaven.
"He's somebody that's personally taken my game and made me a way better player, and for that I thank him," Tkachuk said of Maurice.
With the prime years of Tkachuk's career still ahead of him and a seemingly blossoming player-coach relationship with Maurice, one would think the sky is the limit for the Panthers' pair.
"What is it about him? I don't know the answer to that," Maurice said. "If there was any kind of thing, you'd just have 20 of them. Wouldn't you just say, 'Hey, just do this.'"