Six points in a dozen games? That’s a solid balance for a player who takes in $1.15 million. But now we won’t be talking about Sam Lafferty and the Vancouver Canucks. A nine times more expensive player from another Canadian club becomes the center of attention. Jonathan Huberdeau, an overpaid star (allow the judgement) in the services of the Calgary Flames. The last time he sat on the bench, the coach who took away his joy from hockey is long gone.
“We haven’t sat down at all.”
Huberdeau made no secret that he did not get along with Darryl Sutter, a quirky but successful coach. But the fact that the former mainstay of the Florida Panthers did not shine after the transfer and recorded a historic drop in points in his first season with the Flames cannot be blamed solely on Sutter.
Even the current performances of the French-speaking Canadian show that he is only a shadow of the dynamic forward who distributed delicious passes and fought his way into chances. It doesn’t matter who’s on the switch.
After all, Calgary fired Sutter in the spring and replaced him with Ryan Huska, a much friendlier persona by nature and a favorite of the players.
Even so, Huberdeau’s ghostly -12 shines in the name, and the sextet of points is certainly not the expected productive eruption. It’s gotten so far that the last time Huberdeau, the Flames’ highest-paid player, sat out the third period against the Nashville Predators on the bench.
.In Alberta they decided to downplay everything. And stand up for Huberdeau. What else could they have done, he is a fighter with a contact for 84 million dollars, who should wear the tag on his jersey for another seven seasons.
“He just picked a weaker evening,” said Huska, recognized for his work on the Calgary farm. “No one gives a perfect performance every night,” he downplayed the misery Huberdeau was mired in.
“I wouldn’t make it a science. It’s nothing. Huby is a great, great player and a tremendously optimistic person,” added teammate Dillon Dube. Both covered Huberdeau. But for many fans, that imaginary cup of patience is already overflowing.
They want more from a player with such a gigantic contract. With a tear in their eye, they remember Johnny Gaudreau’s sticks.
The only small consolation? Even the former support of the Flames doesn’t stick too well. But that’s just a weak patch. Calgary needs more from Huberdeau. Now. Sutter is gone, no excuses.
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Tags: million switchboard Sutter longer coaching Huberdeau sitting
