Training camp battle breakdown: Who plays centre with Jonathan Huberdeau?

This is probably the most interesting training camp for the Calgary Flames in recent memory. The team has a number of bodies up front, but how the lines will shake out on opening night is really anyone’s guess. The team has a few lines from last year that they could put back together, but odds are that the team will elect to try completely new look lines and see what happens.

Perhaps the most pressing question of all is, who on earth can get Jonathan Huberdeau going again? The team brought in Anthony Mantha—allegedly at Huberdeau’s request—to hopefully be part of the solution. However, the question remains: who will be the centreman between the two wingers? Here is who is available.

Nazem Kadri

The team’s most gifted centreman, if the Flames want to stack their best players together on the top line, Nazem Kadri feels like the natural fit on paper for the role. He brings the edge and tenacity that Huberdeau’s previous centreman had back in Florida while also being a sniper who can take a great pass and beat a goalie cleanly.

However, it didn’t seem like there was much chemistry between them, and the coaching staff really didn’t try to put them together. In just 198 minutes on the ice together all of last season, they were barely above water in the shot-attempts department but were on the ice for more goals against than they scored.

The team is probably better running them on two separate lines as it is. Kadri formed good chemistry with Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil, which may be a line worth keeping together. And even if the Flames don’t, putting Kadri and Huberdeau together again feels like an exercise in futility.

Yegor Sharangovich

The recently re-signed Belarussian forward had a run as a centreman at the end of last season and looked decent in that time. The Flames really don’t have many true centremen who can play at the top of the roster, but Yegor Sharangovich is the type of guy who can slot in anywhere in the lineup and hold his own.

The Flames could elect to see what they have in him as a centreman with Huberdeau. Sharangovich had an outstanding season last year and particularly had a knack for scoring big goals. His finesse and ability to put the puck in the net instantly made him a fan-favourite in Calgary, and heck, if he could be the guy to unlock Jonathan Huberdeau, he may become a legend in this city.

The challenge with centremen is that they end up playing more of a two-way game, which may limit Sharangovich’s ability to be as dynamic offensively. The Flames will be weaker defensively this season, especially after losing Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov, and Noah Hanifin, and the team will need their centremen to track back reliably. If they want to get the most out of Sharangovich offensively, this may not be the best role for him.

Connor Zary

The Flames have spent the last two years trying to turn Zary into a centreman at the AHL level, and it worked wonders after a very rough start. However, since they called him up to the NHL, he has played very little down the middle, and now may be a great time to start. General Manager Craig Conroy has said that Zary sees himself as a natural centre, and this feels like the year to try him in the role.

/zaRY

The question is whether starting him with Huberdeau right away is the right play, or rather to start him in a smaller role on the third or fourth line then bump him up from there.

The other question is whether there is a better spot for Zary in the lineup. The Flames have an empty spot on the Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman shutdown line and will need someone gritty who can play a strong two-way game, and Zary could be that player. He has a lot of skill and also has been a decent two-way player in his career, so the Flames may be better off using him here.

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Martin Pospisil

The person who may be the best fit in this role is Martin Pospisil. Also someone who sees himself as a natural centreman, Pospisil had a great run of form alongside Kadri and Zary last season when he was called up, but with that line likely being split up, the Flames need to find a more permanent spot for the Slovak forward.

Huberdeau had his best season playing next to a gritty, large, left-shot centre in Sam Bennett, who was able to score and create space for the Quebec-born winger. Pospisil plays the exact same role on the ice as a large left-shot centre and is able to play down low and create space for his linemates.

The challenge is that Pospisil has been playing almost exclusively as a winger this past season, although he has played a decent amount of centre over his career before making it to the NHL. This is going to be a learning curve for him at the NHL level. Is starting him with Huberdeau really the best move?

Further, just as with Zary, is there a better spot for him in the lineup? He also played his best hockey with the grittier line with Zary and Kadri last season, and playing with Huberdeau, who has a more finessed game, will be a big change for him. Does he thrive in this role?

While there are lots of questions, this move probably makes the most sense, at least to start. The Flames will want to see if Pospisil can be a centreman at the NHL level and will also desperately want to get Huberdeau going. This pairing seems like a very natural fit. Throw in Mantha, who is defensively strong, and you have the makings of a very balanced two-way line that can still score.

What makes the most sense?

The Flames have opened training camp with Pospisil in that centre role for now, but time will tell if that’s where he ends up. Assuming the Flames keep Kadri with Sharangovich and Kuzmenko as the main scoring line, it comes down to either Zary or Pospisil in that role.

Both players will probably take time to acclimatize to playing centre at the NHL level, as this is a new role for them both, but both also have a gritty side to them that could work wonders for Huberdeau’s game. Zary does have more skill in him, but he plays more as a playmaker than a scorer. Pospisil is more of a shooter, which would work wonders with Huberdeau’s playmaking prowess.

The other interesting way that this could work later in the season is to move Coronato onto that line on the right and put either Zary, Pospisil, or someone else at centre. Coronato is a natural scorer and would thrive alongside a playmaker like Huberdeau. Now, this would mean splitting up Mantha and Huberdeau, which isn’t something that the team wanted when they acquired the former Detroit Red Wings winger. But if the chemistry doesn’t work out or they feel that Mantha’s two-way game is better with Coleman and Backlund, it’s very possible they try this out.

It’s still early days, but this is going to be one of the lines to keep an eye on all season long. Odds are it will keep changing until something clicks.