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Calgary Flames forward Huberdeau deserving of some major appreciation

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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Dec 11 2024, 5:41 pm
Calgary Flames forward Huberdeau deserving of some major appreciation
Sergei Belski/Imagn Images

Jonathan Huberdeau’s tenure with the Calgary Flames hasn’t been smooth sailing, but he’s quietly putting together an impressive season.

The Flames, despite sitting with a respectable 14-10-5 record, have struggled immensely to score goals this season. They’ve found the back of the net just 75 times, the fifth lowest of all 32 NHL teams. Last night’s 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators marked the first time they’ve scored four goals in a game since October 13.

Those offensive struggles are part of what makes Huberdeau’s start to the season all the more impressive. The 31-year-old, who has been lambasted over the past few years due to his lucrative contract, scored the game-winning goal last night versus the Predators, giving him 10 on the season.

His 10 goals through 29 lead the Flames in scoring and have him on pace to score 28. His career high is 30, which he hit in both the 2018-19 and 2021-22 seasons.

His start from a goals perspective this season is better than 2018-19, where he had eight goals through his first 29 outings. In 2022-23, he also sat with 10 goals through his first 29 appearances.

Thanks to the hot start, Huberdeau is just two shy of matching last season’s 12-goal output and is just five back of what he had in his first campaign with the Flames. It may not be enough to justify his contract, but it’s a start that most of the fan base would have taken, given how his last two years have gone.

Since arriving in Calgary, Huberdeau has also put in a lot of work to improve the defensive side of his game. The once rather one-dimensional forward is now trusted by head coach Ryan Huska in all situations. He’s averaging nearly a minute per game on the penalty kill, the fifth most of all active Flames forwards.

“I feel like he’s a better overall player,” Huska said about Huberdeau earlier this season. “You can see now that the win is the most important thing to him, and if it means that, ‘ If I’m going to kill penalties now, I’ll kill penalties.’ I think that’s one thing that’s stood out for me about him, is you’re seeing a lot of that. Whether you call it leadership, whether you call it him trying to do the right things to allow our team to have success. Now it’s about trying to help our team get the win instead of maybe getting all those points.”

While this certainly wasn’t the version of Huberdeau Flames fans had envisioned when he was first acquired, it’s been quite impressive to see the ways he’s adapted his game in order to remain an impactful player.

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