CALGARY -- Jonathan Huberdeau believes a new summer workout routine has returned a newfound sense of confidence to his game which will hopefully translate on the ice with the Calgary Flames this season.
Huberdeau, who had 52 points (12 goals, 40 assists) in 81 games last season, is entering the second season of an eight-year, $84 million contract ($10.5 million average annual value) signed Aug. 5, 2022.
"I think more speed... I'm never going to be the fastest guy, but I think get a lot of power, more power and stuff, and I had a lot of time to do it," Huberdeau said Tuesday. "Really happy with the summer that I had. It's probably my best summer of training that I've had. I just have to translate that onto the ice. I skated more in the summer as well, so I feel better.
"The confidence is back. I just have to relay that to here with the guys, and I think this year I want to bring fun to my game. That's what we need to be. I think we've just got to make it fun as a team. You never know. We can cause some surprises."
Huberdeau's two-year tenure with the Flames hasn't been as productive as expected.
The 31-year-old, who was acquired from the Florida Panthers with defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, forward Cole Schwindt and a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft for forward Matthew Tkachuk and a fourth-round pick in 2025 on July 22, 2022, has 107 points (27 goals, 80 assists) in 160 games with Calgary since the trade.
He joined the Flames after an NHL career-high 115 points (30 goals, 85 assists) with Florida in 2021-22.
"The one thing about Jonathan ... he changed up his training in the summer," Calgary general manager Craig Conroy said. "He's a super competitive guy. He wants to be the best player. He wants to win. That's the one thing. Just come in and play. He's put a lot of pressure on himself. He wants to take this team and put it on his back, but it's a team effort.
"He doesn't need to put all the pressure on himself. With (Nazem) Kadri, with Weegar, with Rasmus Andersson, (Mikael) Backlund, (Blake) Coleman... we have a good group of core veteran guys and we just need to do it together. It's not one person who's going to win or lose games here. It's going to be a whole team here."
Calgary (38-39-5) finished fifth in the Pacific Division last season and did not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, trading several players who were pending unrestricted free agents before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 8, including defensemen Nikita Zadorov, Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin, and forward Elias Lindholm. They also traded forward Andrew Mangiapane to the Washington Capitals on June 27, and goalie Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils on June 19.
As a result, Huberdeau will be tasked with helping lead a Flames team transitioning toward a more youthful approach.
"At this point, we have some leaders, a lot of leaders, and we have some young guys," Huberdeau said. "No in-between. We need to guide these young guys and help them as much as possible. These days the young guys come in and they're in good shape, they're fast, they're ready to go. It's fun to see that. I think it's just exciting for what this club is going to become, and it starts right now. I feel like it's for us to show the way to the young guys. You never know. We can be a tough team to beat every night and it's on us to decide that.
"Even though it might be harder this year, we have to have fun doing that. I'm going to preach a lot on that this year."
