Montreal Canadiens: Why Jonathan Huberdeau Isn’t The Right Fit For Habs

The Montreal Canadiens are not the most attractive destination for NHL free agents. Winters in Canada combined with a brutal tax situation make places like Vegas, Florida or Texas much more desirable for players who are deciding where to earn their next million, or 50.

The Canadiens have dipped into free agency and landed some pretty good players like Tyler Toffoli and Alex Radulov over the years. However, most of their roster has been built through the draft and trades, and not via free agency.

There is a possibility that a prominent free agent could hit the open market next summer with the Canadiens as their preferred destination. That is far from a guarantee, but it could just happen in 2023 that Jonathan Huberdeau gets to free agency and is open to signing in Montreal.

The star left winger scored 115 points last season, leading the league in assists with 85, and was just traded from the Florida Panthers who drafted him a decade ago. He could sign a long-term contract with the Calgary Flames, who acquired him along with Mac Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a first round pick for Matthew Tkachuk late last week.

Or, he could decide, like Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, that Calgary isn’t where he wants to play. If so, he can walk to free agency on July 1, 2023.

But even if the star left winger, who may be an excellent fit on the top line with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, becomes available, the Canadiens could be wise to pass on signing the Saint-Jerome, Quebec native.

But how could they pass on such a talent?? Huberdeau had 115 points last season, no one has done that for the Canadiens since Guy Lafleur in 1980. Heck, Huberdeau had 85 assists last season and no one in Montreal has had that many points since Pierre Turgeon in 1996.

If Huberdeau does become a free agent and is interested in playing very close to his hometown, it would be an incredible addition to the organization. His playmaking ability would be ideal on a line and a power play with sniper Cole Caufield. The Habs would have a elite first line that could rival anyone’s best trio.

But for how long? Nick Suzuki will be 24 at the start of the 2023-24 season and Caufield will be 22. Huberdeau will turn 30 before he ever becomes an unrestricted free agent. He has been great in his 20s but hockey players have a tendency to slow down pretty quickly once they reach the other side of 30.

Based on his current production, Huberdeau would surely be looking for a maximum seven year contract that would end just before he turns 37. Do the Canadiens want to be stuck with a likely $10 million left winger when he is 36? 35? 34? Even 33?

A lot of those contracts turn out ugly and are quite difficult to get rid of in the salary cap era. Brad Richards, Zach Parise, Sergei Bobrovsky, Ryan Suter, Karl Alzner, Andrew Ladd, James Neal, Milan Lucic, Kyle Okposo, Loui Eriksson, and David Clarkson are just a handful of players who signed really long contracts as they approached 30, and their teams regretted paying them for past performance instead of accepting that their best years were already behind them.

Sure, Huberdeau would be excellent for a couple years, but will the Canadiens be ready to compete in those seasons? Then when they have to give out pricey extensions to defenders like Kaiden Guhle and Jordan Harris and find a goalie on the open market, they would be stuck with a declining Huberdeau who is being paid for his glory days in Florida.

If Huberdeau becomes a free agent next summer, he will sign a seven year contract worth $10 million, or more is he comes close to 115 points again in 2022-23. The Canadiens already have a player in their mid-30s making over $10 million and they have no idea what to do with him.

That’s what happens with players signed until they are nearly 40, they become way overpaid, take up too much cap space, and can become injury prone. If Huberdeau was even three years younger, he might be worth the gamble on a seven year contract.

Artemi Panarin was 26 when he signed with the Rangers for seven years and John Tavares was 27 when he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Their seven year contracts just might still look okay at the end of their term, but they might not provide a lot of value in the last year or two.

Huberdeau will already be 30 when he becomes a free agent and that is just too old to commit to someone for seven years. Even if he is interested in joining the Canadiens, it just wouldn’t make sense to use that much cap space on him at that age, especially with Price still making $10.5 million for three of those seasons.

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