Jonathan Huberdeau: Dinner with Brad Treleving prompted him to sign

When The Flames acquired Jonathan Huberdeau (among others) in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk, they knew full well that they would have to try to strike a long-term agreement with Quebecer, who would become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2023.

And last night, they were finally able to say mission accomplished: Huberdeau signed an eight-year contract that will make him a member of the Flames for the next nine seasons.

When I look at the parameters of the show, I still think Huberdeau has accepted the offer that Jonny Goudreau and Matthew Tkachuk turned down in the past few weeks. But good.

For Huberdeau, it’s a great offer that guarantees him a good salary until he’s 38. My colleague Charles Alexis Presbyoa argued this morning that he could hardly have done a better job in the free agent market in a year, and I’m inclined to agree.

But if Huberdeau decided to make a long-term commitment with Flames, that’s also because he felt the organization was valued. Earlier this week, Brad Treleving went to Montreal to dine with him and, in the end, played a big part, the main interested party claims.

Basically, according to Huberdeau, seeing Treliving take the time to go out and dine with him in his corner made him feel that the organization really cared about him. And while he wasn’t entirely convinced he’d be signing long-term with The Flames that night, he had a good feeling that it would eventually.

And in a few days, history will prove that he was right.

Treliving hasn’t been easy this summer. He had to contend with the departures of Gaudreau and Tkachuk, perhaps the most important players in his squad, but despite everything, the long-term signing of Huberdeau is a nice consolation prize.

If he can also convince MacKenzie Wiggard to sign for the long-term, Treliving will have done an exceptional job. The situation wasn’t really clear, but he probably handled this in the best way.

So, in the long run, the Flames will build around Huberdeau and Elias Lindholm, perhaps their two best offensive components. However, the defense is very solid, there are good supporting forwards (Andrew Mangyapan, Tyler Toffoli and Mikel Backlund, among others) and Jacob Markstrom is not a bad goalkeeper.

So, hats off to Treliving, who will have played his cards well to encourage Huberdeau to stay in town.

Many of

Speaking of Huberdeau.

– News from lightning.

What does a prospective kings nursery look like?

– In the long run, yes. In the short term, for example, no.

– interesting.