CALGARY, AB — Jonathan Huberdeau might not be loving life in Calgary.
If a tweet sent out by his agent on Thursday is any indication, the vibes around the Flames are anything but immaculate these days.
What might Allan Walsh be referring to? Well, it’s pretty clear that head coach Darryl Sutter is the subject of the ire here, and you don’t have to look very far for evidence of negativity there.
For example, here’s how Sutter’s availability ended following a loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
As a team, the Flames are floundering a bit. They’re 4-4-2 over their past 10 games, and sit outside the Western Conference playoff picture - tied with the Minnesota Wild in points, but with one more game played and therefore not in the second wild card spot.
As mentioned in the clip above, they’re not getting goaltending expected from Jakob Markstrom, while Dan Vladar allowed five goals on 24 shots in the loss to Detroit on Thursday.
Perhaps, as was recently suggested on the Locked on Flames podcast, it's worth calling up promising goalie Dustin Wolf from the AHL.
"You need a litt bit more from your goaltenders," said co-host Nick Zararis. "If miss the playoffs by a handful of points because you didn't get good goaltending, and you have someone who you think is a capable NHL starter just waiting in the AHL for an opportunity, you're going to kick yourself over that."
Now, back to Walsh's client.
Huberdeau was part of a major shakeup in Calgary last summer. He, along with defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, was brought in from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk.
Additionally, the Flames watched as Johnny Gaudreau walked out the door, easing that loss up front with the signing of Nazem Kadri.
For his part, Huberdeau certainly isn’t performing up as expected. Last season, he recorded career highs in goals (30) and points (115) with the Panthers. In 52 games as a Flame, he’s managed only 10 goals and 36 points.
That’s a precipitous dropoff for a player who signed an 8-year contract extension with Calgary that kicks in next season and carries an annual cap hit of $10.5 million.
So, what’s going to give here? Do the Flames end Sutter’s tenure with the team for the second time in his coaching career? Do they make a trade prior to the deadline to shake things up? Do they call up Wolf?