Major trade between the Montreal Canadiens and the Flames involving two players? It has officially been proposed for Huberdeau and Anderson

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Elias Edmonson
January 8, 2024 (8:57 PM)

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When he was traded to the Calgary Flames, many hoped that Jonathan Huberdeau would not get along with his new team and that the CH could sign him long term. The Quebecer finally agreed with the Alberta team on the terms of a lucrative eight-season contract valued at $84 million, or nearly $10.5 million per year.

Given the recent performances of the native of Saint-Jérôme, CH fans must now thank heaven that he is not currently a member of their organization. He even mentioned, when his confidence level was at its lowest, that he could well go 60 games without scoring...

"I try to forget about it," added the left winger who commands an annual salary of $10.5 million. "I can go 60 games without a point right now. You want to get them, but I stopped thinking about it because it would frustrate me." - Jonathan Huberdeau

The new GM of the Flames, Craig Conroy, must strongly dislike his predecessor Brad Treliving, who offered the huge contract to the Quebecer. Conroy is now stuck with his forward because he will never manage to trade his contract.

On this subject, Andrew Berkshire recently published a survey proving that no one wants the Quebecer anymore. Not even those who dreamed last year that he would end up in the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge uniform. He asked everyone, in light of Huberdeau's recent performances, who would refuse the following trade:

Josh Anderson for Jonathan Huberdeau, considering that Calgary retains 2 million dollars so that his average salary becomes $8.5M/year.

As you will see in the figures, and especially in the comments, fans do not want to see Huberdeau in town.

On the other hand, Anderson's contract is not really any better. At $5.5M for another 3 seasons (until the end of 2026-2027), it's expensive for a player who does not produce and is not excellent defensively. If Huberdeau is struggling in Calgary, there's no saying he won't also struggle in Montreal. Imagine him a bit with Kirby Dach!

The fact is that the Quebecer's hefty contract will scare many teams, even if it is retained to the tune of $2M by the Flames. As they say, money doesn't always bring happiness...