2017-18 Season Rewind: Jonathan Huberdeau

SUNRISE, Fla. - Jonathan Huberdeau has certainly been through a lot.
The Florida Panthers winger was coming off a career-best 59-point campaign when an errant skate blade sliced through his left Achilles tendon during a preseason game on Oct. 8, 2016 - an abrupt roadblock on the former third-overall pick's steady ascent towards stardom.

He was held out of the first 51 games of the ensuing season, but still somehow managed to look better than ever upon his return, scoring in his first game back and finishing with an eye-popping 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) over the final 31 games of the 2016-17 season.
Now, less than two years after the injury, Huberdeau is coming off the best season of his career.
"I think after the injury to the Achilles it's never easy to come back from that," Huberdeau said after cleaning out his locker at BB&T Center in April. "It wasn't easy on the body this year, but it was fine. I'm glad I kind of had a chance to do it. This summer is going to be really big to come back and hit the next level and come back next year and do better."
In his first full season since the injury, Huberdeau set new career highs in goals (27), assists (42) and points (69) while also suiting up in all 82 games. His 69 points placed him in a tie for 37th in the league and his 42 assists were tied for the 10th-most in franchise history.
A staple of the top-six, Huberdeau was a key contributor at both 5-on-5 and on the power play for the Panthers. He ranked third on the team in points (50) and second in goals (20) at even strength, while also sitting behind only linemate Vincent Trocheck in power-play points with 19.
Huberdeau also skated 19:12 per game - the highest average ice time of his career.
"It was a good season," Huberdeau said. "Best season point wise, personally. Overall, I thought we didn't have the start that we wanted. We always come back to the start. It's huge to have a good start so at the end you have some points in the bank. We didn't so we tried to catch up the whole last half of the season and the team in front of us didn't give us a chance."
With five years remaining on the six-year deal he inked in September of 2016, Huberdeau is only now just beginning to enter his prime. He'll be 25 years old when the puck drops on the 2018-19 season and will play a big role in helping the Panthers get back into the playoffs.
How big a role? Well, Florida was 28-12-3 when he recorded at least one point this season.
"We'll probably have a similar group that we had this year, some young guys coming in," Huberdeau said. "We just need to feel comfortable with each other and come back and be confident, get a good start and get some wins."

COOL STAT

Huberdeau saw a big increase in both his shot attempts and shooting accuracy this season.
His 204 shots on goal, 341 shot attempts and 13.2 shooting percentage were all career highs, a noticeable change from Huberdeau's traditionally pass-first mentality. It's also the simplest way to explain his large increase in goal scoring - more shots equal more chances to score.
Even when he didn't find twine, however, Huberdeau also proved to be the best Panther in terms of taking shots that generating rebounds. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, his 28 rebounds created were not only the most on team, but also placed him among the top-40 players in the league in the category.
"I've been told I got to shoot a little more," Huberdeau told the Sun Sentinel in December. "A lot of people keep telling me this. It's something I have to do. Pretty sure you're going to have more opportunities to make some plays, but when you don't to force things, you got to shoot."

BEST GAME

Huberdeau notched two points, including the game-winning goal with 8.9 seconds left in regulation, to lift the Panthers a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 3 at BB&T Center.
With time ticking down, Keith Yandle fired a slap shot towards Detroit's net, where Huberdeau, who was jockeying for position near the top of the crease, beat goaltender Petr Mrazek on the ensuing rebound to give Florida a very late lead.
The goal was reviewed for goaltender interference but was eventually upheld.
"The atmosphere was great tonight," Huberdeau said after the game. "Even the chant, 'Go, Panthers. Go!' helped us a lot in the third period. It just got us going."

GOAL OF THE YEAR

Now this is how you toe drag.
Heading up the left side of the ice, Huberdeau breaks into the offensive zone with a head full of steam, unleashes an absolutely filthy toe drag to slip around Minnesota Wild defenseman Nate Prosser and scores on his backhand to make it a 2-2 game on Dec. 22 at BB&T Center.