That’s an impressive amount for most players, but most players don’t make $10.5 million a year. The Flames and their fans expected more from Huberdeau, who scored 30 goals and 115 points in 80 games during his final MVP-level season with the Florida Panthers.
As Flames coach Ryan Huska put it earlier this week, Huberdeau appears to have rediscovered his “offensive swagger.” Huberdeau has already surpassed his Flames’ single-season high for goals with 16 in 38 games, putting him on pace for a career-best 34.
“He’s a tremendous player, and to see him come out of his shell a little bit and just go out and play with his swagger and his intelligence, it’s great to see,” Flames captain Mikael Backlund told reporters. “He is a great key to our group. We need him to play that way. “We need him to lead this team and that’s what he’s been doing.”
Huberdeau’s 24.6 shooting pace, which is nearly double his career average (12.6 percent), suggests he will regress at some point. But the way he’s scoring could extend his hot streak. Fourteen of Huberdeau’s 16 goals came from the inside goal, second only to Winnipeg’s Gabe Vilardi (16). Huberdeau’s average goal distance (excluding two empty-net players) is 10.6 feet, ranking him ninth among 134 NHL players who have scored at least 10 goals this season.
“(My teammates) call me ‘Johnny Energy Ahead’ now,” Huberdeau told reporters recently.
Calgary has found something in the combination of Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and Martin Pospisil. Since Huska assembled those forwards a month ago, they have outscored opponents 10-7 (9-6 at five-on-five) and generated 58.3 percent of expected goals at even strength over the last 13 games. The scoring odds in the cycle are 23-7 in favor of the Flames at five-on-five with that line on the ice during that span.
Whenever Huska was asked about Huberdeau, he made sure to mention the forward’s improved play on the defensive side of the puck.
While no one will ever mistake Huberdeau for a Selke Trophy candidate, he has made modest strides in that facet of his game. Huberdeau plays 4.16 defensive plays per game, including pass blocking and stick checks, among other things. He finished with 3.57 per game last season.
Huska has also placed Huberdeau on the penalty unit, where he is averaging 52 seconds of reduced ice time per game, the second-highest total of his 13-year career. (He played a complete (3:15 on the penalty kill last season).
Huberdeau is one of the best forwards in the league this season at recovering loose pucks in the short-handed defensive zone, averaging 1.22 every two minutes. That ranks sixth among 165 forwards with at least 30 penalty minutes.
“I feel like he’s a better player overall,” Huska told reporters. “Now you can see that victory is the most important thing for him. If that means I’m going to kill the sorrows now, I’ll kill the sorrows. I think that’s something that stands out to me about him. … Now, it’s about trying to help the team win instead of maybe getting all those points, and I really appreciate how he’s gone about his business that way.”
Calgary is on the brink of the Western Conference playoff race almost halfway through the season, which was unexpected in October. Huberdeau’s resurgence has played a big role in that.
“I feel like I’m at my best,” Huberdeau told reporters. “Especially on the other side of the puck. I’ve never been the best at it and I’m proud of it. “I’m having a lot more fun.”
