Two of the biggest stars in the NHL were involved in this Blockbuster trade which saw the Flames’ 2016 sixth overall draft pick Matthew Tkachuk traded to the Florida Panthers in return for the Panthers’ 2011 3rd round selection Jonathan Huberdeau.
Let’s analyze how this trade will shape these two teams going forward and what their future odds to lift this year’s Stanley Cup are now.
Future Odds
The Panthers’ odds have not changed at +900 since the trade was made.
However, the Flames are currently +1800 after oscillating around +2000 before the trade. With the Flames bringing in one of the Panthers’ better defensemen and having an overall better defensive structure, we are excited to see these teams face off against each other. Especially as Calgary also added Mackenzie Weegar as part of the trade.
Neither team has come away from this trade as a loser, both teams have added good caliber players.
The Flames got more bang for their buck in signing Weegar and some draft picks, whilst the Panthers have most of their best forwards wrapped up for another year and the addition of a prime Tkachuk could help bring the team to that next step, especially in the coming years.
What Does Matthew Tkachuk Give the Panthers
Tkachuk is just coming into his prime and this 8-year deal should cover him throughout his prime years, it’s a shrewd bit of business the Panthers have made here.
- When it comes to his style of play, he is both a goalscorer and playmaker as you can see from his stats above.
- He is five years younger than Huberdeau yet has only 46 goals less than him in the regular season.
- Driving to a creative position and getting in and out of tight spaces is one of his specialties and this should suit the Panthers’ style of play.
- He can also play an in-front-of-net roll.
- Tkachuk had a career-high 104 points last season, which was 27 points more than his previous best of 77 back in 2018/19.
What Does Jonathan Huberdeau Bring to the Flames
The Flames took a HUGE loss when Jonathan Gaudreau went to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tkachuk decided he didn’t want a contract renewal. It looked as though they were about to lose not one but two top forwards, however, they instantly replaced one of those with Huberdeau.
Who knows what the future holds, Huberdeau could still be a top player in 8 years’ time.
- Although he is a few years older, Huberdeau is still one of the best creative players and playmakers in the league and is still only 29 years old.
- He should have at least 3 to 4 steller seasons in those legs but his main game revolves around game IQ, hands, and vision, which doesn’t require as much leg work.
- His style of play is much more similar to Johnny Gaudreau’s than Tkachuk’s.
- Last season Gaudreau had a league-high 51 primary assists, whilst Huberdeau was in 2nd place with 50.
Although the Panthers might have gotten a better deal here, the Flames are MUCH better defensively than Florida and now have the added Mackenzie Weegar, so for this season at least things might be a little more evened out.
Tkachuk and Huberdeau NHL Career Stats
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how the trade went down here are some of the players’ stats in the NHL thus far in their careers. Obviously, Huberdeau has a slight advantage in that he has been in the league a few years longer than Tkachuk.
Matthew Tkachuk
- Played in 431 regular season games
- Scored 152 goals
- Assisted 230 goals
- 382 overall points
- Average time on ice 17.16 minutes
- Plus/Minus rating +85
- Postseason Tkachuk has played 27 games and produced 15 points
Jonathan Huberdeau
- Played in 671 regular season games
- Scored 198 goals
- Assisted 415 goals
- 613 points overall
- Average time on ice 18.04 minutes
- Plus/Minus rating +41
- Postseason, Huberdeau has played 26 games and produced 21 points
How the Trade Went Down
It seems with Matthew Tkachuk not willing to sign long-term with the Calgary Flames the management and front office decided it was best to cash in on this asset now rather than see his trade value depleted.
There were plenty of teams interested in signing the Arizona-born player but the Panthers seemed to be offering the best deal in exchange for Canadian player and long-term Panther Jonathan Huberdeau. The trade also included defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, a 2025 first-round pick and prospect Cole Schwindt all headed to the Flames.
However, it does seem the Panthers got the best deal here as Tkachuk is five years younger than Huberdeau and will cost the Flames 8 million less overall as Tkachuk signed a 76 million deal over 8 years whilst the Flames forked out 84 million on Huberdeau over 8 years.
Deal-wise, the Panthers will find it much easier to buy out Tkachuk’s contract than the Flames will Huberdeau, which will only be a concern if things go downwards.
Calculators
