“We need guys who are willing to plant trees even if they know they’re never going to get any shade.”
Martin St-Louis moved all of Quebec in 2022 with his metaphor about Jake Allen.
We are exaggerating a bit, but the image was still strong. In other words, given where the Canadiens were in their reconstruction, veterans were bound to have to lend a helping hand to train the next generation, all the while knowing full well that they would be elsewhere when the Tricolore aspired to the top honours.
Here we are at the Jonathan Huberdeau Golf Tournament, Monday morning. No one arrives here with a downcast expression, as is always the case at such events. Michel Therrien appears in the distance, with a big smile. Marie-Ève Dicaire deploys her usual energy. A sharp clap echoes through the air: it’s Jakob Pelletier giving an old buddy one of the best handshakes in the history of handshakes.
Huberdeau takes a quarter of an hour to sit down with The Press in a quiet corner of the chalet’s terrace. He too is smiling, even though he knows he could have welcomed the visit in a much more festive context. His former team, the one with which he “planted trees” until 2022, the Florida Panthers, is now Stanley Cup champion.
“I’m happy for the guys, they worked hard. [Aleksander] Barkov, I was with him for years, he works so hard. Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett too,” Huberdeau lists.
It’s tough to see guys lift the cup. You think: I was there for 10 years, during tough times. But that’s how you build a team. When you’re young, you don’t care, you just want to build your career. Now I’m back in that situation, but a little bit older.
Jonathan Huberdeau
Where it hurts, though, is that Huberdeau was old enough to be a major contributor to the champions. But he and MacKenzie Weegar were deemed to be traded for Matthew Tkachuk in order to change the Panthers’ identity. Tkachuk did contribute to that change, with 197 points in two seasons and plenty of grit to spare.
“Tkachuk arrived, and yes, he’s good,” concedes the Jerome player. “But he’s well surrounded. They have talent, you see. Bill Zito was good at getting guys like Ekman-Larsson and Kulikov, who weren’t doing as well elsewhere. And a good coach like Paul Maurice, it shows. I thought they were going to win.”
Reconstruction
At 31, Huberdeau finds himself with the Calgary Flames, who are trying to get back on their feet. Traded since the start of 2024:
- forwards Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane;
- defenders Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev;
- goalkeeper Jacob Markström.
These five veterans had between 400 and 800 games of NHL experience. So we’re talking about mature players, in that sweet spot where they have experience but aren’t in full decline.
Huberdeau could have gone there. But with his production down and a contract valid until 2031, worth $10.5 million, he is stuck in Alberta. “It’s certain that I am hard to trade. I knew that when I signed the contract, but I didn’t know how it was going to go. I thought I was going to produce points, that it would go well, but the more defensive game system didn’t help.
“I know I’m worth the contract. Several factors didn’t help me, and it’s up to me to get out of it.”
Failures
Since his arrival, the Flames have changed coaches – Ryan Huska replaced Darryl Sutter – and general manager – Craig Conroy replaced Brad Treliving. The team missed the playoffs by two points last year, but this spring, they were dumped by 17 points, the cause and consequence of the aforementioned housecleaning.
There are plenty of signs pointing to a rebuild, including the roughly $20 million the team still has available to spend next season.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Jonathan Huberdeau
“At the age we are, that’s what’s harder,” admits Huberdeau. “But there are surprises. We can get into the playoffs, even if everyone sees us as the underdogs.”
But it’s never fun to be in reconstruction. When you’re young, you can learn, gain maturity, you have time. But at 31, you want to win and you want to win there. It’s harder to swallow, but you have to accept your role 100%.
Jonathan Huberdeau
Huberdeau accepts his by supporting in particular his young compatriot Jakob Pelletier, choice of 1er Flames tour in 2019. “Jaromir Jagr taught me a lot of things. Now, I help Pelletier, but I also try to help others. But it’s certain that there is a more special connection between Quebecers.”
Pelletier was also one of the guests at the tournament. “Just the fact that he wrote to me to introduce himself when he was traded, it really made a splash. Everyone knows the player, but the guy off the ice, few people know him,” says Pelletier. Today, he’s a good example, we see that he gives back to people.
“He’s the kind of person I want to be. Even though things haven’t been going so well for two years, he still comes to the arena with a smile on his face.”