Life in South Florida is a bit of a mixed bag, but for Jonathan Huberdeau, there's just no alternative. Drafted in the 1st round in 2011 (3rd overall), Huberdeau has made the most of his time with the Florida Panthers, the only organization he has ever known.
The Saint-Jerome, PQ native is currently in his 8th season with the Panthers, having played 498 games, good for 10th in franchise history, but by season's end, if he can remain healthy this season, Huberdeau will move into sole possession of 7th on the all time. It's shocking to think that in just 8 seasons, a player would be able to ascend an all-time list so rapidly, however, it is easy to overlook the fact that the Panthers organization has only been around for 26 years, having been founded in 1993, oddly enough, the year Huberdeau was born.
Huberdeau, a former Calder Trophy Winner, currently sits 7th on the Panthers' all time goals list (136), 1st on the all time assists list (260) and 2nd on the all time points list (396).
After finishing last season with an astonishing 92 points - up from just 69 points in 2017-18 - Huberdeau is putting together another strong season, having registered 37 points in just 31 games thus far, a 98-point pace. With this type of steady progression, and showing improvement year-over-year, you could argue that Huberdeau is making a case for himself as the greatest Florida Panther of all time. But how does Huberdeau feel about his individual point totals? Obviously, he is happy to be contributing, although the playoffs are his main focus.
"If you get 92 points and you don't make the playoffs, it's not worth it. So I don't care how many points I get, I've got to help the team to win and make the playoffs. That's all that matters to me," Huberdeau said in a recent interview with Sportsnet's Sonny Sachdeva.
The skilled winger has embraced playing the game in a quieter market, and doesn't seem to mind that fellow Panther and linemate Aleksander Barkov seems to be garnering most of the attention in Sunrise, even enjoying being considered "underrated".
“I think Barky's well-known right now, I don't think he's underrated anymore,” Huberdeau says “I think he's such a special player, and you know me, I'm kind of playing with him under the radar. And I kind of like that.”
When asked how Barkov has influenced the growth in his game, Huberdeau was very complimentary of his young counterpart.
"Barky is obviously a great player, a great all-around player. He's great offensively obviously but he's even better defensively, so it makes a big difference for us. Playing together, obviously we have special chemistry — we find each other pretty easily on the ice, and that's what makes us good. It's about protecting the puck in the offensive zone, we like to get possession. [Evgenii] Dadonov too, not a lot of people talk about him, but he's a guy that helps us do our things in the offensive zone, and be creative."
With both Barkov and Huberdeau rolling right now, it's only a matter of time before the two young players become the top two point producers in Panthers history, but how does Huberdeau want to be remembered? Well, it's simple, really. He wants to bring a Stanley Cup to Sunrise.
"If you don't win, you don't get much recognition. You can be first in points and whatever, but I think bringing the Stanley Cup here would be the best thing that could happen to me and to the team and to the organization. So that's my main goal, to win the Stanley Cup. Obviously to be first in points is just extra motivation, but I think the main goal is the Stanley Cup. That's all I want to do in Florida."
You can read the full interview with Sportsnet here.
