It does seem pretty crazy that just four years into Jonathan Huberdeau’s career as a Calgary Flame, we have already come to this point in a discussion where a buyout is thrown around. It has been bleak to say the least for Huberdeau since arriving in Calgary in the summer of 2022. There was so much excitement and buzz when the Flames were able to land him in the ever-so-famous trade that saw Matthew Tkachuk go the other way to the Florida Panthers, as Huberdeau was one of the league’s most prolific scorers at the time the trade was made.
Since then, however, the Huberdeau we had seen for years with the Panthers never arrived in Calgary; he was a shadow of his former self. There have been some flashes over the years of the old Huberdeau, but that is it, a mirage, something we see once in a while, but never sustained over an entire year. Now he is on pace for his worst statistical season since his sophomore year, and he will still have five years left on his contract (the highest-paid Flame in team history) after this season concludes.
It begs the question: Is there a real case for buying out the remaining five years of Huberdeau’s contract this summer and wiping the slate clean? Well, let’s take a look at that.
Where did it all go wrong?
It is hard to pinpoint exactly what happened to Huberdeau after the trade that sent him to Calgary. There definitely could have been some shock factor, as I don’t think Huberdeau ever expected he would be dealt from the team that he had played for his entire career, and at that point, one could argue he was the best player in franchise history.
He never looked comfortable in his first season in Calgary. The change to the Western Conference, new teammates, and new country and city, Darryl Sutter as the head coach, there were a lot of new things that came with the trade. Not to mention the contract extension he signed before ever playing a game for the Flames had to have been a ton of added pressure with trying to be the guy that replaced Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau as the new go-to-guy in town. He has the biggest drop off in points from one season to the next, that season going from 115 in Florida to just 55 in Calgary.
Ups and downs
Year two would be worse. He went on an almost month-long pointless streak and finished with fewer points than he did the season prior, and you could tell that it was all weighing on Huberdeau. Last season, he would see the most success he’s ever had as a Flame. 28 goals and 62 points, it was still a far cry from what he achieved as a Panther, but we finally saw a sign of life. Maybe things were turning for the better, but we all thought wrong.
You can argue this season has been the worst of his NHL career. On pace for just 36 points, Huberdeau has been a complete non-factor the entire season. Whether he is in the lineup or not, he has not been a gam- changer in any way. It stinks, he was so good in the past and was such a fun player to watch make magic happen. However, that player no longer exists, and I have no idea where he went.
Why it would make sense to buyout Huberdeau
A buyout for Huberdeau is unlikely happen. With five years remaining on his deal, the Flames would be forced to pay Huberdeau and have him against the cap for the next decade. The Flames are probably not going to be a cap team for a while, but when having the cap hit on your roster for that long, it could get dicey.
In saying all of that, what would the Flames be challenged with if they did buyout the remainder of his contract? Numbers courtesy of Puckpedia.com.
| Season | Cap Hit |
| 2026-27 | $10.3M |
| 2027-28 | $10.3M |
| 2028-29 | $7.8M |
| 2029-30 | $10.3M |
| 2030-31 | $5.8M |
| 2031-32 | $800K |
| 2032-33 | $800K |
| 2033-34 | $800K |
| 2034-35 | $800K |
| 2035-36 | $800K |
In the first five seasons of the buyout, the Flames would be barely saving any cap space in 2026-27, 2027-28, and 2028-29 (cap savings would be $200K), but once they get through that, they would be spending only $800K on the buyout for the final five years.
Not having someone on your roster that you would be paying over $10M per year probably is not the most enticing thing in the world, especially to an owner like Murray Edwards, but it would free up a roster spot and some cap savings for someone in the pipeline to push for a spot out of training camp next season and beyond.
A win for both sides?
The Flames have a ton of guys on the way that they are hoping can be impact players, and they will cost the Flames almost nothing on the cap due to them being on entry-level contracts. It’s also not like Huberdeau has lit the league on fire; maybe he goes elsewhere and finds success, but clearly it isn’t going to be in Calgary.
It may just be the split that both sides need. Huberdeau would get a chance to revive his career in a less pressure-heavy environment, and the Flames could start fresh without him on the roster. It has just not been marriage that has gone well since the beginning. Both sides have been really unhappy since they came together back in 2022, and it really hasn’t gotten any better since.
Why buying out Huberdeau wouldn’t make sense
As I mentioned above, it is a lot of money to pay a player to not play on your hockey team, especially from a business point of view. The Flames have been very bullish on spending dead money in the past, and they’ve bought out very few players over the last number of years.
To have this dead cap hit on the roster in the years that Huberdeau would still be on the team, probably isn’t enticing enough for the Flames to pull the trigger. Huberdeau is clearly a leader in the locker room, and with this rebuild the Flames are about to go through, you need veterans in the room. Huberdeau has been through a ton in this league and could be a mentor for this new wave of Flames coming up. Something like that should not be overlooked.
Lastly, the Flames just don’t need to do this right now. They have all of the new core guys locked up, and there aren’t any big contracts that will need to be signed for at least the next couple of years. I don’t imagine they will be big players come free agency, so they will really only need to worry about the guys on the roster. If they were a team up against the cap, I could understand wanting to buyout Huberdeau, but as of right now, there is no sense in doing so. Maybe a couple of years down the line, we could be looking at it a lot differently, but right now, it really isn’t a pressing need.
Huberdeau needs to be better
I know we have been saying it for four years now, but even Huberdeau would admit that he knows he must be a lot better. The Flames are really getting negative value out of him in contrast to what he is being paid on a per year basis. If the Flames could squeeze a little more juice out of him, maybe there is a timeline down the road where somebody would take the risk and trade for him, hoping they could revive or unlock the Panthers version of Huberdeau.
The chances of that happening are slim to none at this point, but from a fan point of view and just wanting to get a lick of entertainment out of this team, Huberdeau getting back to some version of what he was in Florida would make watching the current product of this team a lot easier on a night-to-night basis.
