Flames star admits to coming into the 2023-24 season with a lot more motivation than he had in 2022-23
After coming over to Calgary from Florida in the Matthew Tkachuk trade last summer, Jonathan Huberdeau was looking for a seamless transition with his new team after signing a massive 8-year extension. Unfortunately, that's not what had occurred and Huberdeau had struggled mightily in his first year under Darryl Sutter in Calgary.
Calgary ended up missing the playoffs and then Flames GM Brad Treliving and Sutter departed the organization. Huberdeau made history last season - however, it the kind you don't want to be apart of. After last season, the 30-year-old set the NHL record for the largest point drop-off in league history, seeing a dramatic decrease of 60 points between '21-22 and '22-23. In 79 games last season Huberdeau scored 15 goals and 55 points, with his previous campaign yielding 115 points.
Huberdeau was interviewed by Flames TV recently and not only appeared rejuvenated, but also declared that he is much more motivated this summer than he was last year.
"This summer brought back my confidence. I feel more motivated to go back and be more myself, be a leader in the room."
With a new coach behind the bench in Calgary in Ryan Huska, it is a pretty good bet that Huberdeau will rebound in a big way with the Flames this season. Will he return to form and produce another 100+ point season? Maybe, maybe not. But we can be sure that he'll exceed the 55 points he had produced last season with very little effort. A player of Huberdeau's caliber will almost certainly bounce back.
| POLL | ||
How many points will Jonathan Huberdeau score next season? | ||
| 50-60 points | 21 | 28 % |
| 60-70 points | 17 | 22.7 % |
| 70-80 points | 21 | 28 % |
| 80 + points | 16 | 21.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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