As if things weren't going badly enough for forward Jonathan Huberdeau since joining the Calgary Flames in the blockbuster 2022 summer trade from the Florida Panthers, he was just dealt yet another disappointing setback in his quest to return to the ice fully healthy for the upcoming season.
According to Flames general manager Craig Conroy, Huberdeau experienced a setback in his recovery after having undergone hip resurfacing surgery.
"I think this is a major surgery, so he had a little bit of a setback, maybe two weeks ago, with his skating," Conroy said in a recent interview on Sports on 770. "We just want to make sure we do the right thing for him. If it is to take a little bit more time, and have him 100 per cent feeling good about the hip, that's what we're going to do."
"In the gym, everything else is real positive," he continued. "We just want to make sure that when he's on the ice and taking that physical contact, that he's ready. But it's coming, and it's still on his schedule. We're not going to rush him into something. We feel that at the beginning of the [season], he's going to be pretty close. It's just when — we're not 100 percent sure yet."
Huberdeau, who was limited to just 50 games last season while scoring just 10 goals with 15 assists, underwent hip resurfacing surgery in March after being shut down by the Flames in late January because of the ailment.
Right now, the Flames are scheduled to begin Training Camp in less than three weeks, and whether or not Huberdeau will be able to be on the ice with the rest of his teammates remains up in the air.
The Flames' future took a major turn in the summer of 2022, when Calgary traded Matthew Tkachuk to Florida for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar in a blockbuster deal.
Since then, Tkachuk has helped lead the Panthers to three consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances and back-to-back championships, both won over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. Meanwhile, the Flames have missed the playoffs in each of those seasons.
The Flames haven't won a postseason series since the spring of 2022 when the late Johnny Gaudreau thrilled fans at the Saddledome with his dramatic overtime Game 7 goal against the Dallas Stars, propelling Calgary to the second round against the bitter provincial foe Edmonton Oilers.
Right now, it doesn't appear as though that postseason drought is going to end any time soon, and making it even more disappointing is the fact that Huberdeau hasn't come even remotely close to living up to the expectations that came with his $84 million extension he signed shortly after being acquired.
Since joining the Flames, Huberdeau has skated in 291 games and tallied 65 goals and 129 assists for 194 points.
Meanwhile, Weegar is no longer part of the Flames, as he was dealt to the Utah Mammoth earlier this spring at the Trade Deadline.
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