Flames GM appears to be laying the groundwork for a Huberdeau extension
The blockbuster trade that took place a couple weeks ago that saw the Calgary Flames send away star forward Matthew Tkachuk and a conditional 4th round pick to the Florida Panthers for Jonathan Huberdau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a conditional first round pick was certainly among the biggest stories of the summer. Now, the focus for the Flames is to lock up the pair of pending UFA's to contract extensions.
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, 2022 All-Star winger Jonathan Huberdeau met with Flames GM Brad Treliving for dinner (and, presumably, drinks) in Montreal last night. Now this was more than likely Treliving wanting to get to know his new star player, but I'm sure it was also about laying the foundation for the new relationship between team and player and building some trust so that when it comes time for a long term contract extension for the former Panther, he is more amenable to the idea.
Huberdau, 29, is coming off of a season that saw him post career highs in assists and points with 85 and 115, respectively. It's also worth noting that he tied his career high in goals with 30 in 80 games. The Hart Trophy candidate is definitely due a lofty salary increase from his previous $5.9M AAV. The only issue will be convincing the star forward to stay with the Flames for years to come. The Flames will be able to do that by committing to continue building a winner.
It seems like Brad Treliving is starting off on the right foot with Huberdeau, although it will probably take more than one night out to convince the All-Star to stay with the team. One solid year on a playoff team should be enough to convince him otherwise, but it will certainly be interesting to see it play out for both sides.
