A year ago, Jonathan Huberdeau had to face a barrage of questions from reporters about whether he could bounce back from a disappointing first season with the Calgary Flames.
On Tuesday, the situation was nearly identical and the questions were similar … it’s just that there were fewer of them.
Few people would expect the forward to return to the form he showed with the Florida Panthers when he put up 115 points in 2021-22. That doesn’t seem realistic after two seasons in which recorded 55 points in 2022-23 and then 52 last year.
But he’s still the Flames’ highest-paid player. The team could really use him being better offensively, even if he’s not going to get back to his peak.
And to his credit, Huberdeau does seem to be trying. He changed up his training this off-season, for one thing, and is entering the season with less pressure than in the past.
“I think more speed,” Huberdeau said when asked what his focus had been this summer. “I’m never going to be the fastest guy, but I think I get a lot of power, more power and stuff, and I had a lot of time to do it. I’m really happy with the summer I had, it’s probably my best summer of training that I’ve had and I just have to translate that onto the ice.
“I skated more in the summer, as well, so I feel better. The confidence is back. I just have to relay that to here with the guys.”
It remains to be seen whether a focus on skating and speed is going to translate into a more productive version of Huberdeau. But he’s being paid US$10.5 million per season for the next seven years, so seeing improvement from the 31-year-old is obviously something the Flames would like to see.
And there’s going to be a spotlight on him, whether he’s lighting it up or struggling.
Through two seasons with the Flames, Huberdeau has been willing to stand in front of the media and face the music when it comes to his production.
He’s accountable, both publicly and personally, and while accountability alone doesn’t generally earn hockey players contracts that pay them $84 million over eight seasons, it’s not nothing.
And Flames management is nothing if not confident in Huberdeau’s willingness to put in the work and try to find his way back to the player former GM Brad Treliving signed to the biggest contract in franchise history two years ago.
“The one thing about Jonathan … he changed up his training this summer, he’s a super competitive guy, he wants to be the best player, he wants to win,” said Flames current GM Craig Conroy. “Just come in and play. He’s put a lot of pressure on himself. He want to take this team and put it on his back, but it’s a team effort.
“He doesn’t need to put all the pressure on himself. With (Nazem Kadri, MacKenzie Weegar, Rasmus Andersson, Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman) we have a good group of core veterans and we just need to do it together. It’s not one person who’s going to win or lose games here. It’s going to be a whole team here.”
The Flames have made moves that would appear to put Huberdeau in a position to succeed this season, particularly the signing of Anthony Mantha in free agency.
On the day Mantha signed, Conroy talked about how the power forward might complement Huberdeau’s eye for a pass in the offensive zone. The two have worked with the same Montreal-based skills and skating coach in past summers, and Huberdeau fully understands why people are intrigued by their potential together.
“It’s nice, I had the chance to be with him in the summer,” Huberdeau said. “This summer, he was in Washington but the past couple summers we’ve skated a couple times together. Obviously, we’re going to become closer.
“He’s the type of guy who has a really good shot and great hockey sense. We’ll see. I don’t know what the plan is, but we’ll see if we can get a little French connection out there.”
The Flames are hoping for the best and that they might see Huberdeau’s best this winter.
Otherwise, there’s a good chance the same questions are going to be being asked at this time next year.