CALGARY — Heading into training camp with a radically revamped top six, Darryl Sutter said one of his first orders of business was simple.
“I need to find out if (Jonathan) Huberdeau is a Lindy (Elias Lindholm) guy or a (Nazem) Kadri guy,” said the Calgary Flames coach.
Two months later, he’s still not sure, which is why no one should have been surprised to see Huberdeau line up alongside Kadri in practice for the first time Monday.
Seven games in, Huberdeau, Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli have yet to score a single 5-on-5 goal.
No other top line in the league can say as much.
It’s a shocking stat for a team that has still found a way to open with a 5-2 record, thanks to its depth and special teams.
“I think they’ve been good on the power play, all of them together,” said Sutter, whose club sits eighth in the league with the man advantage.
“I think it’s still a long ways from being exact.”
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And so, the line tinkering begins for the first time this season.
Huberdeau’s linemates Tuesday were Kadri and Andrew Mangiapane, who have previously made up the team’s most effective line with Dillon Dube.
Monday’s second trio consisted of Milan Lucic alongside Lindholm and Toffoli.
As solid as Lucic has been on the fourth line to date, his presence on the second unit hints strongly at the possibility the new trios were simply a practice experiment that may not continue Tuesday when the Flames host Seattle.
As Sutter pointed out, the team won’t have much practice time over the next few weeks, with eight games slated for the next 15 days.
The priority in all of this is to find a way to get Huberdeau back into the type of offensive rhythm that netted him 115 points last season, albeit in a less structured system.
“Jonathan is a really good 200-foot player,” said Sutter of his top left winger, who has a goal and four helpers to date.
“I think there has been way too much talk about goals, and assists, and points, and last year. It’s so different.
“When that happens, (the player thinks) ‘OK, I’ve got to score more.’
“He does everything else. He’s a good player.
“Instead of putting pressure on yourself to score or make that play, just play the game.”
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Who he’ll do that alongside is the big question moving forward.
As the Flames’ best player and leading scorer, Kadri has played the type of well-rounded game capable of lifting the fortunes of anyone around him.
But at what cost, as Kadri’s line has been the team’s most productive?
The fact is, scoring is going to be harder to come by this year, which puts even more pressure on finding a way to find the best fit for Huberdeau.
“Our chances-for are up from a season ago, but the difference there is finishing and quality,” said Sutter, whose top line had four even-strength goals at this time last year.
“What’s real, is you took two 40-goal scorers out of your lineup and you didn’t put two 40-goal scorers (back) in.
“So, you’re going to have to score more with volume and plays around the net.”
So far so good, in that regard, as Brett Ritchie and Mikael Backlund have scored three apiece, with several coming at key times.
It’s only natural for many observers to look at high-powered newbies like Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar to step up with more of the offence they’re known for.
“This is challenging thing for me because this is everything you guys talk about, and is exactly what I talked about when I came here: ‘Johnny (Gaudreau) and Monny (Sean Monahan) and Matthew (Tkachuk) and Gio (Mark Giordano),’” said Sutter of the team’s former core.
“It’s the same thing. We had to get totally away from that, and we have to get totally away from it again.”
Dube was dropped to the left side of the third pairing with Backlund and Blake Coleman, while Adam Ruzicka shared time skating on the fourth unit with Trevor Lewis and Ritchie.
The chemistry experiment continues Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday as Seattle, Nashville and New Jersey come to town.
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