Ever since Jonathan Huberdeau arrived in Calgary, everyone—including himself—has been left wondering when Jonathan Huberdeau would actually arrive in Calgary. The prolific playmaker who earned a $10.5M contract was nowhere to be seen. The 115-point nightly offensive threat was missing and instead of the Flames contending with their new-look roster, the past two seasons have sent the team right into a rebuild.
Simply put, the team was not good in its current form and it merited a reassessment of when the Flames would be competitive again by Craig Conroy and Co.
As it turned out, the Flames were shy to use the word rebuild, but luckily actions speak louder than words. Trade after trade, it was clear the team had turned their sights on the future. Suddenly (or not so suddenly), the players Brad Treliving brought in to keep the team competitive turned into veterans who are expected to play key roles in mentoring the team’s youth.
Gone were the days of expecting Huberdeau to be a gamebreaker, and that’s exactly when he decided he’d bounce back.
Huberdeau the playmaker was back for a bit
Huberdeau opened the 2024–25 campaign on a tear. In the second game of the year, he scored two goals and two assists. That would in fact be his first four-point game and first two-goal game as a Calgary Flame.
Huberdeau did not keep up his resurgence, but he’s reached a new milestone that aligns with the exact type of milestone a struggling playmaker could use to break out of their slump.
As a Florida Panther, Huberdeau’s assists more than doubled his goal output. He had 415 assists to 198 goals. So far as a Flame, this ratio remains true but this would be more attributed to his goal-scoring rates plummeting over the past two years.
In his third season in Calgary, Huberdeau finally picked up his 85th helper with Calgary to reach 500 career assists!
Take in the good moments
No one can deny that it’s much more fun to watch the Flames when the players on the ice are also having fun. Maybe having no expectations of the team is giving them a renewed lease on their season as it’s a lot more motivating to prove doubters wrong.
How the Flames and Huberdeau finish 2024–25 is anyone’s guess, but in a season that should unofficially mark Year 1 of a rebuild, all good moments should be celebrated.
A big congratulations to Huberdeau for reaching the milestone. While the Flames could have used this version of him two years ago, better late than never—rebuild aspirations be damned.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
