4 Trades That Could Revive Flames Forward Jonathan Huberdeau's Career

Prior to joining the Calgary Flames before the 2022-23 season Jonathan Huberdeau was coming off a five-year run where he was one of the top-five offensive players in hockey.

He was an elite scorer and point producer who had played his way into MVP discussions as the focal point for the Florida Panthers and a perfect fit in their up-tempo style of play.

But with the Flames unable to re-sign Matthew Tkachuk, they traded him to Florida in a blockbuster deal that sent Huberdeau to Western Canada where he would eventually sign an eight-year, $84 million contract.

Just one year into that deal it is already looking like one of the worst contracts in the NHL as Huberdeau has produced a fraction of his previous rate from the Panthers and struggled to fit in with Calgary's style of play under two different head coaches.

Everybody involved needs a change.

So, let's look at a couple of potential trade ideas that could help get his career back on track and give everybody involved a fresh start.

When you have a contract like Huberdeau's, there is only one way you are going to move it, and that is finding another team with a bad deal it wants to get rid of.

Say hello to the Chicago Blackhawks and defenseman Seth Jones.

This could be the type of contract swap that might at least have a small chance of happening if it did get proposed.

From a Chicago standpoint, it would be getting Huberdeau into a more up-tempo style of play alongside an emerging megastar in Connor Bedard. That might be enough to help get his offensive production back to at least somewhat closer to his expected level and allow him to jump-start his career.

From a Flames standpoint, Jones isn't a bad player, he's just a player who has a bad contract. But even in that context, it is still one year shorter and $1 million per season less than Huberdeau's deal.

After trading Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin at this year's deadline, there is also a need for more help on defense.

The money works. The team's needs works.

It might even work from a hockey standpoint.

Another potential bad contract swap that could also make some sense.

While Huberdeau has struggled to fit in with the Flames, Pierre-Luc Dubois ended up being one of the biggest disappointments of the past year in his first season with the Los Angeles Kings.

You can be certain the Kings are going to find some way to get out of that eight-year, $68 million contract, especially before July while they don't have to worry about his no-movement clause.

They can trade him anywhere without his approval until then.

Both players have contracts that run through the 2030-31 season, while Huberdeau's deal is an extra $2 million against the cap.

L.A. needs more offense, and Huberdeau at least has the potential to be a difference-maker especially if he has the right talent around him.

The Kings have strong center depth and playmakers who can get him the puck (and also finish his playmaking) while the Flames need help at center. He might not be happy there long-term, but he probably isn't going to be happy anywhere until he ends up in Montreal.

Huberdeau might be just what the Kings need on offense.

A lot of mistakes were made in the summer of 2022 across the NHL.

The Flames' decision to pay Huberdeau and Johnny Gaudreau's decision to sign with Columbus were two of them.

So let's undo it all with one big trade.

Maybe Gaudreau and the Flames have already run their course, but there is no question his time in Calgary was the most successful portion of his career and his time in Columbus is not going as planned. This could give him a chance to get back into an environment where he did well, while Huberdeau goes somewhere where the expectations are not quite as great.

That could open him up to be a big-time scorer again, especially on a team with a good young core of talent starting to make its presence felt.

Would two fierce, longtime rivals want to help each other out of their own jams and potentially help them improve?

Maybe not. Probably not.

But it's an idea at least worth exploring because, just like the previous three scenarios, it is a situation where the money and fit all work and piece together almost perfectly.

Huberdeau's style of play seems like it was built for the Connor McDavid-Leon Draisaitl Oilers, and if Edmonton does not make the Stanley Cup Final this season (or even the Western Conference Final depending on what happens in Game 7 against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night), there will almost certainly be changes made.

Nurse's contract has been a problem in Edmonton from almost the minute it was signed, and he is probably not even one of their top-four most reliable defenders at this point.

His contract runs one year shorter than Huberdeau's and counts nearly $1.5 million less against the cap, so it would be a very manageable swap.

It's again a matter of whether these two rivals would want to consider helping each other in their current situations.