from Julian McKenzie of The Athletic,

There was reason to believe that a new season along with coaching changes would bring about a much different Huberdeau, especially since the winger was leaned upon heavily for his input regarding that coaching search. Not only have we not seen a new Huberdeau, statistically speaking, things couldn’t be worse for him.

It’s one thing for him not to be on the team’s top line or power-play unit. But Huberdeau simply hasn’t played like someone worthy of being in either of those spots. Huberdeau is in the midst of a career-long, 12-game pointless drought and hasn’t recorded a point in December. It’s the latest setback in a season where Huberdeau was benched for an entire period against the Nashville Predators, only for the team to come back and win without him. Per Hockey Reference, Huberdeau is now on pace for a career-worst season with nine goals and 34 points.

“I try to forget,” Huberdeau said. “I can go 60 games without a point at this point. You want to get some points. But I’ve stopped thinking about it. Because if not, it’s going to make me frustrated.”

What can’t be forgotten is that 114 games into his Flames tenure, and now in the first year of an eight-year, $84 million contract, Huberdeau has yet to find a permanent home on a productive line....

“When someone’s in a slump, the only way out of it is to dig in and work harder,” Huska said. “It’s easy for a coach to say it. The player is like ‘Oh, I got to make plays. I squeeze my stick tighter and it gets harder and harder. But at the end of the day, you just have to grind. You have to work your way through it. And you have to trust that you’re a good player and that you can make those plays.”

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