LATEST | Jonathan Huberdeau drops his feeling on Darryl Sutter now that he's been fired

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Felip Gosselin
May 2, 2023 (7:24 PM)

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The Flames caused a stir in the Western Conference when they fired the coach they had just extended. Darryl Sutter was let go by the team since the players had come forward in year-end meetings saying that they didn't want to come back if he was still behind the bench.

Jonathan Huberdeau, the newly acquired (and newly signed) star forward in Calgary was nowhere near the level he was expected to play at. Huberdeau and Kadri two of the team's newest acquisitions had openly stated that they weren't best of friends with Sutter's old methods.

Sutter had an episode earlier this year where he clearly disrespected one of the team's best prospects Jakob Pelletier and Huberdeau being quite close to the rookie too that personally:

"Why say that to the media and then go see the kid tell him he played well?"

"We were all disappointed. Especially for a young kid who comes in and doesn't need that as a young player. He just wants to play well for himself and the team. In the media, we were all pretty surprised. We were saying 'That's Darryl''

Huberdeau then commented on his personal relationship with the coach and how he felt it didn't get the support he needed:

"...It really didn't click between me and Darryl last year. There were a lot of factors. There was a big difference in points between my last two years. And the style of play he wanted to play, it didn't fit my style of game.

Having a new coach is going to help my game and my confidence, too."

Huberdeau collected an impressive 115 points in Florida before he was involved in a blockbuster deal for Matthew Tkachuk. His production decreased drastically in Stampede City when he managed only 55 points.

The Flames are now on the market for a new bench boss, will the coaching change make the Flames a playoff contender again? Was this the change they needed?

CREDIT: HabsFanatic