Florida Panthers: Barkov and Huberdeau Need to Stay Together

For the last six seasons, the Florida Panthers have entrusted Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau on the ice at big moments at the same time, which has led to great effect.

The two have played together since the 2013-14 season when Barkov was still 19-years-old and Huberdeau was fresh off winning the Calder Memorial Trophy. Neither played more than 70 games, and the two finished with a mere 51 points combined.

There wasn’t a lot of other talent around the Florida Panthers’ forward core at that point, as Nick Bjugstad was the top point-getter at 38 points that season.

Fast forward five seasons and both Huby and Barkov finished in the top 12 of the NHL in points, with 92 and 96 points, respectively.

The two were with each other in the Panthers’ best season in recent memory. Paired alongside ageless wonder Jaromir Jagr, both recorded career highs in goals and points, leading the Panthers to an Atlantic Division Title back in 2015-16.

While that season seems like a mere mirage of what the Panthers have accomplished with these two on the roster, this past season showed that both Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau are elite NHL forwards capable of getting the Panthers back into the postseason.

While the two are talented enough to play without each other, the two are meant to play together for Joel Quenneville going forward.

Former Panthers head coach Bob Boughner rotated Huberdeau between the top lines, occasionally alternating Nick Bjugstad and Mike Hoffman with Barkov and Evgenii Dadonov on the top line.

While this may have tried to balance out the top lines, it became obvious that Barkov and Huberdeau needed to play with each other in late November of this year.

Rewind back to November 30th, 2018; the Panthers have lost six of eight, including embarrassing displays against Columbus, New York Rangers, and Tampa Bay.

Down 2-1 to the division-leading Buffalo Sabres, Boughner flips Mike Hoffman back to the second line while Huberdeau goes to the first.

Within five seconds of a power play, Barkov wins a faceoff while Huberdeau creates the goal with a brilliant centering feed for Dadonov, who scores on his own rebound to level the game at two, forcing overtime.

In that overtime frame, a perfect display of chemistry between the two shows exactly why they are so dynamic.

Barkov brings the puck in, hands it off to Huberdeau, and moves behind the goal. Huberdeau knows exactly where Barkov is going, holds the puck, and sends it right to Barkov at the side of Linus Ullmark’s crease, to shoot the puck home for the win.

What helped the two was that this season happened to be each of their best NHL seasons. For Huberdeau, it was his best season as a playmaker with 62 assists, shattering his career high assists total by 20 from the season prior.

Barkov, meanwhile, delivered deadly wrist shots seemingly every game, as his 96 points were not just a career best, but a franchise-best in Panthers history.

The chemistry goes both ways, however. Barkov wasn’t just the leading goalscorer; he pitched in for a few of Jonathan Huberdeau’s career-high 30 goals this season.

In April’s win over Ottawa at Canadian Tire Centre, it was Huberdeau cashing in from a Barkov feed. Again, both seemingly always know where each other will be.

As Barkov receives the puck out wide, he looks up and sees Huberdeau crashing the net. His pass placed in the perfect position for Huberdeau to skate onto, and he buries the chance past a sliding Anders Nilsson.

Despite the team’s success, an interesting talking point for next season should be whether the two are together on the top line.

It might seem like an obvious decision to make, especially after last season, but with new coaching, there could be a change.

Quenneville led the Blackhawks to three straight cups with their two best forwards, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, on separate lines.

Surrounded by an inferior supporting cast of veterans Marian Hossa, Mike Richards, and Patrick Sharp during those Stanley Cup victories, it would be hard to see this success not working with the Panthers’ top six.

Yes, in other organizations spreading the top talent of the forward core has led to success. In Florida, however, Barkov and Huberdeau have always been better together.