The Calgary Flames have announced Jonathan Huberdeau has signed a long-term extension. The deal is an eight-year deal worth $84 million dollars or $10.5 million AAV. The deal carries through the 2031-32 season. Calgary acquired Huberdeau earlier in the off-season in the Matthew Tkachuk trade.
🚨SIGNING UPDATE🚨: #Flames agree to an eight-year, $84 million contract with forward Jonathan Huberdeau…
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Jonathan Huberdeau Signs Long-Term
The 29-year-old set career highs in Florida last year, scoring 30 goals and 85 assists for 115 points. Drafted third overall by the Florida Panthers in 2011, Huberdeau has scored a collective 613 points in the NHL in 671 games. Up until this point, he has spent his entire career with the Panthers. Huberdeau is a premier playmaker, and will immediately provide a positive impact on every member of Calgary’s roster. He equally provides the leadership of a veteran who’s been through every stage of hockey. Huberdeau has been part of the Panthers re-build from bottom feeder to Presidents Trophy winner. He doesn’t provide much defensively, however, paired with a defensive center like Elias Lindholm, the results should be fantastic.
What This Means
The Flames were having a difficult off-season. After having a strong season where they finished with 50 wins and 111 points they (no pun intended) flamed out in the second round of the playoffs to rival Edmonton. Then, despite their best efforts, they lost their two best players. First, Johnny Gaudreau left via free agency to sign in Columbus. Then RFA Matthew Tkachuk announced he wouldn’t be signing long-term in Calgary, so a move had to be made. The Flames and Panthers completed a trade that could easily be considered the largest trade of the salary cap era. Still, Huberdeau and Weegar were entering the final years of their respective contracts, so the Flames long-term outlook was uncertain at best. Was the team looking to re-build or try to stay competitive? Now, with Huberdeau now locked up, Calgary looks to be in good shape.
Calgary’s identity has changed over the past month. The team of Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk is now the team of Jonathan Huberdeau. Receiving the largest contract in franchise history shows that Calgary is fully committed to Huberdeau as their franchise player, and it is entirely possible that he will be the recipient of the vacant captaincy. Adding an elite playmaker to a line set to be completed by sniper Andrew Mangiapane, who himself signed a multi-year deal this week, and defensive center Elias Lindholm will surely make Calgary’s first line one of the most impactful in hockey.
