Pundit Lays Out Plan for Flames to Eventually Trade Jonathan Huberdeau 

Dating back years, the Calgary Flames were seemingly forced to trade Matthew Tkachuk when he made it clear he didn’t see a long-term future with the Flames, and they decided to move him to the Florida Panthers. In return, the Flames received a huge return that included Jonathan Huberdeau, who they signed to an eight-year extension shortly after bringing him in.

That massive extension came with a $10.5 million cap hit, which no fan seemed to have an issue with considering the elite level Huberdeau was playing at with the Panthers. Unfortunately, he seems to have lost that touch with the Flames. Now, fans would do just about anything to trade him.

In a recent article from Mike Gould at Daily Faceoff, he sketched out how the Flames could, eventually, move him.

Huberdeau is Overpaid, But Still Has Value

Despite a rising salary cap, the Flames would still benefit from getting Huberdeau’s contract off the books, but according to Gould, that will take time, and everyone will have to have patience. The nice thing, as Gould points out, is that Huberdeau’s cap hit shouldn’t cause any issues for the Flames when it comes to paying their younger players who will need extensions down the line.

One thing that remains true, as Gould also points out, is that Huberdeau would have interest from around the league if he were a free agent today, writing, “…after the injury-riddled season he just had, his value is undoubtedly the lowest it’s ever been. But let’s say Huberdeau got back to scoring 50-60 points in the 2026-27 season, and then became a UFA. How much would that 34-year-old version of Huberdeau be worth on the open market?”

Huberdeau Could Still Increase His Own Value

Gould made another solid point, mentioning that even as he gets older, he could become someone that teams view as a solid veteran to surround young players with, considering his reputation as an incredible teammate.

He writes, “If Huberdeau spends the next two or three years skating alongside the likes of Matvei Gridin, Cole Reschny, and Ethan Wyttenbach as they transform into impactful NHLers, it could work wonders for rehabilitating his image, at least in the eyes of NHL executives, from an overpaid has-been to a useful mentor and secondary scorer.”

Trading Him: How Does It Make Sense?

Gould sketched out a very specific scenario, mentioning that it doesn’t seem likely that Huberdeau gets moved within the next couple of seasons.

However, he writes, “Say, for example, that two or three years from now, a contending Montreal Canadiens team is looking to bolster their top nine with a veteran playmaking winger who just so happens to be from nearby Saint-Jérôme. If Huberdeau has a couple more seasons like his 2024-25 campaign, in which he scored 28 goals (only two off his career high) and 62 points, he might start to make sense as a trade target for certain teams.”

Gould continued, “…what if the Flames were prepared to retain salary to get him down to $6-7 million for the rest of his contract? And what if they took back a bad contract or two in the deal, like the Toronto Maple Leafs did when they took on Milan Michalek, Jared Cowen, and Colin Greening in the Phaneuf trade? Maybe, just maybe, the Flames could get a couple of draft picks or prospects in return for the Québécois veteran.”

As Gould admits, there are a lot of “what ifs” in any scenario that involves trading Huberdeau. But it doesn’t seem impossible that the Flames could get assets back if they eventually choose to trade him before the end of his contract.

At the end of the day, Huberdeau is still a great player who brings value but is overpaid. Teams will be monitoring if he ever becomes available with retention, but for now, he will remain with the Flames as they go through a rebuild.

As the 2026-27 season approaches, be sure to continue following The Hockey Writers as your source for news, updates, and more from around the NHL and the hockey world.