Since the Florida Panthers are visiting Calgary tonight, it stands to reason that the main narrative will center on players like Sam Bennett, MacKenzie Weegar, Matthew Tkachuk, Jonathan Huberdeau, and MacKenzie Weegar rather than the Flames.
This season’s visit from the Panthers should be a little more low-key than the one from last year, even if it was exciting to watch how the Calgary crowd welcomed Tkachuk after the summer’s blockbuster deal.
That does not negate the enthusiasm around Tkachuk and Bennett’s return to the city where their NHL careers began.
For his part, Huberdeau claims that this game is just like any other, but he does admit that it will be when the Flames go to South Florida later in the campaign.
“We’re at home, so it doesn’t cha
The previous season, Calgary defeated the Panthers in both encounters, including one where the Flames lost to the Los Angeles Rams and fired head coach Darryl Sutter.
Both Huberdeau and Weegar had poor beginnings when they joined their new teams, but Weegar has improved in just one season with eight goals.
nge anything, it’s the same game,” Huberdeau stated on Sunday, as reported by the Calgary Herald.
“It’s a regular game at the end of the day, but you’re playing against familiar faces. When we play in Florida, it means more and is more memorable.
With regard to Huberdeau, that is untrue.
Huberdeau, who scored 115 points in 2021–22, broke a franchise record for the Florida Gators. He was subsequently traded in July as the key component of the Tkachuk transaction.
Huberdeau appeared to have a falling out with Sutter last season, as he finished with a meagre 15 goals and 55 points in 79 games.
Things are much worse this year.
After the move, Huberdeau signed an eight-year,
$84 million contract, although he has only scored four goals and collected 14 points in 31 games as of the start of the current season.
With 28 points at the end of his poor second NHL season in 2013–14, he is headed for his worst point total since then.
Huberdeau hasn’t scored a goal in 13 games going back to his game against Seattle on November 20.
This month, he has gone eight games without scoring a point.
According to the Herald, Huberdeau stated, “It’s not easy, obviously, not getting points and stuff, but we’re in a good stretch as a team so that’s kind of all that matters.” Of course I want to be involved, but it’s difficult right now.
“At the end of the day, all I can do is work hard.” Things don’t go my way if they don’t go my way. I want to be there for my teammates and other things, so of course I’m not getting breaks, but I’m also not making any excuses. That’s all if we’re winning that matters at the end of the day.”
Regarding his observation of the Tkachuk-led Panthers’ triumph in the Eastern Conference playoffs and subsequent trip to the Stanley Cup Final, Huberdeau did not appear to be really supporting his old team.
He even said something that was taken out of context after the Panthers’ 2022 Game 3 loss in Tampa, albeit it wasn’t particularly well-liked by Florida supporters. The next day, they would be easily eliminated from the second round.
“I thought at that point, ‘who cares?'” As stated by Huberdeau in the Herald.
“Obviously, it would have hurt if they had won, but you also feel awful for the players because they’ve been your teammates and friends for a long time, and now they have the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup for the first time.
Leave a Reply