Jonathan Huberdeau's shocking slide to rock bottom
How in the world has he regressed this badly?
HockeyFeed
Last July, the hockey world was stunned as the Florida Panthers made a gigantic and franchise-altering move, trading assistant captain Jonathan Huberdeau and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar to the Calgary Flames in exchange for the rugged forward Matthew Tkachuk. Following the trade, the Flames and former general manager Brad Treliving secured Huberdeau's future with an eight-year extension valued at $84 million.
However, Huberdeau's debut season with the Flames could not have gone worse. In his 79 games, his performance yielded only 55 points, marking a significant decline in production, setting an NHL record for the single biggest drop-off with 60 points. The situation worsened as Huberdeau engaged in public exchanges of criticism with the old-school bench boss Darryl Sutter throughout the year.
It was thought that Huberdeau would be a prime candidate for a bounce-back season after the removal of Sutter behind the Flames bench in favor of former assistant Ryan Huska. But if you can believe it, Huberdeau's stats are somehow even worse. At this point last season, Huberdeau had tallied six goals with 18 assists. So far this season, he's scored only four goals with 11 assists with an awful -14 rating, and is on pace for a mere 36 points.
And to add to that point, take a look at his statistical output in his last 11 game - he's recorded zero goals and zero assists during that stretch.
This stands as one of the most staggering declines in production in NHL history. It draws comparisons to Jonathan Cheechoo, a former Maurice Richard Trophy winner, who netted 56 goals during the 2005-06 season, largely due to Joe Thornton's acquisition. However, Cheechoo's NHL journey saw a gradual decline, as he scored 37 goals the following season and 23 before exiting the league less than a decade later.
Huberdeau's decline has come completely out of nowhere, and the Flames are tied to him for the next several seasons at an exorbitant rate of payment.
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