Annually, The Athletic dissects the worst deals in the NHL, and recently, former Florida Panthers star and current Calgary Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau maintained his spot at the top. After scoring a franchise-best 115 points in 2021-22, the organization traded him to Alberta in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk, who helped the Panthers win the Stanley Cup in 2024 and 2025.
During his first season with the Flames, Huberdeau has struggled even to come close to duplicating the successes he once had in Florida. While Tkachuk helped lead the Panthers to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, Huberdeau endured a difficult first season in Calgary, scoring just 15 goals and 55 points after posting 30 goals and a franchise-record 115 points the year before. The 60-point drop was one of the steepest single-season declines in recent NHL history.
Shortly after acquiring him, the Flames signed Huberdeau to an eight-year extension worth $84 million. Heading into the 2026-27 season, Huberdeau will be the 27th highest-paid player in the NHL at $10.5 million. Aside from a 29-goal campaign in 2024-25, Huberdeau scored just 10 goals and 25 points in 50 games last season before undergoing hip surgery.
Overall, with 613 points in 671 games with the Panthers, Huberdeau produced a .94 points-per-game average. However, since relocating to Canada, his numbers have dropped off significantly to just 194 points in 294 games, equaling a .66 points-per-game average.
With the Flames in the middle of a rebuild, Huberdeau's $10.5 million cap hit looms large over the organization. As Calgary's younger core develops, that contract could make it more difficult to retain emerging talent in the years ahead, since his salary accounts for over 10% of the team's cap hit.
After topping lists of the NHL's worst contracts for three consecutive years, it's difficult to envision a trade for the 33-year-old. Still, stranger things have happened, and a fresh start could be Huberdeau's best chance to rediscover his game as he enters the latter stages of his career.
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