Jonathan Huberdeau’s future in Calgary is still a long way from being settled, but one NHL analyst has already started mapping out a possible exit route for the Flames if they ever decide to move on.
The conversation starts with the contract. Calgary brought Huberdeau in as part of the return for Matthew Tkachuk, then quickly locked him into an eight-year extension carrying a $10.5 million cap hit.
At the time, that number made sense because of the level he had shown with the Florida Panthers. Since then, though, his production in Calgary has dipped enough that many Flames fans would clearly welcome a trade if the right path opened up.
In a recent Daily Faceoff piece, Mike Gould argued that the Flames could eventually create that path, even if it won’t happen soon. His basic point is simple: Huberdeau’s deal is expensive, but it is not untouchable.
Gould noted that Calgary would still benefit from getting the contract off the books, especially with the cap continuing to rise. At the same time, he stressed that patience would be required. The upside for the Flames is that Huberdeau’s cap hit should not block them from extending their younger players when those deals come due.
There is also the question of what Huberdeau might look like if he hits the market later in his career. Gould pointed out that his value is at a low point after an injury-riddled season, but he also floated a scenario in which Huberdeau rebounds enough to post 50-60 points in the 2026-27 season and then reaches unrestricted free agency at age 34. In that case, Gould asked, how much would that version of Huberdeau be worth?
He also made the case that Huberdeau could help rebuild his own image just by spending more time around Calgary’s younger talent. Gould wrote, “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.”
From there, Gould turned to what a trade might actually look like, and he made clear that it probably would not be a near-term move. Still, he outlined a possible future fit for a contender - specifically, a Montreal Canadiens team looking for help in its top nine. He suggested Huberdeau could appeal as a veteran playmaking winger from nearby Saint-Jérôme if he put together more seasons like 2024-25, when he scored 28 goals, just two shy of his career high, and finished with 62 points.
The real key, Gould wrote, would be Calgary’s willingness to help make the deal work. He suggested the Flames might need to retain salary to bring the hit down to $6-7 million for the rest of the contract, and also take back a bad contract or two. In that scenario, he said Calgary could potentially land draft picks or prospects in return for the Québécois veteran.
Gould was careful to acknowledge how many moving parts there are in any Huberdeau trade idea. But his bottom line was that it is not out of the question for Calgary to recoup some assets if it ever chooses to move him before the deal runs out.
For now, Huberdeau remains a talented but expensive piece of a Flames rebuild, and teams around the league will be watching to see whether his name ever comes back into the trade market with salary retention attached.
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