The biggest story of the 2024-25 season for the Calgary Flames has been Dustin Wolf becoming, well, Dustin Wolf in the National Hockey League after being a superb goaltender in junior and the minors in prior years.

But the next-biggest story has been the resurgence of veteran forward Jonathan Huberdeau. He doesn’t quite look like the “old” Jonathan Huberdeau, of three seasons hence, but he is arguably a better, more complete player than he’s ever been in the NHL.

Huberdeau was drafted third overall by Florida in the 2011 NHL Draft, and through the majority of his career in the NHL, he’s been a dynamic, productive offensive player. He set the NHL’s single-season record for assists by a left wing in 2021-22, registering 85 assists and 115 points for the Panthers.

But that season was followed by a big transition, as he was traded from the only place he’d ever played pro hockey to the Flames and immediately signed the biggest contract in Flames franchise history (eight years at $10.5 million per season). After scoring 115 points in his final season with the Panthers, he had 107 points in his next two seasons with the Flames combined.

After two seasons struggling to find his consistency and confidence – though his back half of the 2023-24 season was pretty solid – Huberdeau has found his mojo again as a two-way player. He’s been a fixture on the Flames’ top offensive line, most recently with Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato. He plays both both sides of special teams, too. He’s playing about two minutes more, on average, than in either of his first two seasons.

He also leads the Flames in goals and points, with 27 goals and 55 point through 69 games. FlamesNation chatted with Huberdeau following Friday’s practice on Long Island.

“I think you can see that our team’s leading scorer, it’s not at the top of the league,” said Huberdeau. “So we don’t score a lot of goals, but at the end of the day, I think helping the team in different ways, penalty killing and, you know, power play or five on five and play more defensively. I think that’s what I kind of take pride in this year and simplify everything. And like I said, I just want to help the team too. Obviously we want to be in the playoffs and that’s all we care about.”

In the past, Huberdeau was a player that was only really on the ice in offensive situations. But he’s worked hard over the past season to work on his play away from the puck, to the point where even when he’s not scoring he’s doing things that help the team win hockey games. Most importantly, Huberdeau has been trusted to be on the ice against key opposition players in key situations.

“You need the trust from the coach to have success,” said Huberdeau. “And I think we’ve been put in a situation that, you know, that we play against the top players and you take pride in it. That’s what I’m talking about. You know, that’s what me and Husk kind of talked about. And I think that’s it’s been done this year. More ice time playing 20 minutes a night makes a difference as well. So I think a lot of things changed this year and it’s been great. And hopefully we can, you know, just top that with the playoff spot.”

One of the big turning points for the Flames this season may have actually happened during the off-season, when head coach Ryan Huska met Huberdeau in Montreal and they discussed their plans for him for the coming season. It was a productive conversation, and resulted in Huberdeau returning to Calgary focused on his 200-foot game.

“It went well,” said Huberdeau, of that conversation with Huska. “He’s a guy that thinks a lot. I think a lot too. So kind of got together and talked, talked about everything. And the conversation went well. And I think at the end of the day, there’s stuff that he wants me to do. There’s stuff that I wanted him to do. And we came to an agreement. And after that, we came here and, you know, kind of worked out both ways. And obviously, Husk and I, we have a good relationship. So it’s good.”

Given the key names that departed the Flames during the 2023-24 season, the lowered external expectations for the club heading into 2024-25 seemed understandable. But a lot of the Flames players – including Huberdeau – came into the season with a lot of motivation, and a lot of players have ended up growing their games and helping the team become more than the sum of its parts.

“Yeah, I think everybody needed to step up,” said Huberdeau. “And you lose a lot of good players. And I think the young guys too, they took a step and they come in. They’re really good players. So it’s great for the future. And I think, you know, from the expectation that we had this year, we believe in ourselves. But, you know, it’s great. I think we’ve been in a lot of games that have been tight. I mean, we lost a couple that we probably should have won. But at the end of the day, we’re in a spot that we can make the playoffs. And that’s what we wanted from the beginning.”

On Saturday, Huberdeau played his 900th career NHL game. The outing was a pretty good example of how he’s performed with the Flames this season: a goal, two assists, a screen on Coronato’s opening goal, a superb pass on Coronato’s second goal, and a deflection while absorbing a cross-check on the game-tying goal to send things to overtime. Speaking to the media following Saturday’s game, Huska reflected on Huberdeau’s performance.

“The offensive side, I’m happy for him because he’s a good offensive player,” said Huska. “And up until this year, it’s been a challenge for him. It’s not for a lack of try or anything like that, as we’ve talked lots about. So it’s nice to see him get rewarded. But for me, it’s the other things that have brought his game along. Like in the first period, the shot block that we get from him early in the game. His work on the penalty kill, his work along the walls in his own zone. He’s a guy that’s very proud of playing that 200-foot game now. So it’s nice to see him get rewarded. But I look at the whole big picture and I think he’s done an excellent job.”

Huberdeau has six more seasons left on his contract, and it’s natural to be anxious about how that deal may age over time. But for those looking for reasons to be optimistic about Huberdeau’s hockey future, he’s a more well-rounded hockey player than he was when he signed his big contract. His willingness to continue working on his game and adding defensive details to his offensive talent speaks to his adaptability and desire to help his team win. If that trend continues, he could remain a net positive in the Flames lineup for awhile yet.

The Flames return to action on Tuesday night when they host the Seattle Kraken.