Kadri, Huberdeau finally finding on-ice chemistry for Flames

Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau’s off-ice relationship is translating to on-ice success, and the chemistry between the veteran forwards could finally give the Calgary Flames a legitimate top line.

Since reuniting on a line alongside Martin Pospisil in Columbus on Dec. 3, the two have combined for 12 points and consistently driven play. Head coach Ryan Huska said last week that the team hasn’t had a true No. 1 trio in a couple of seasons, but the Kadri-Huberdeau-Pospisil line could change that if their strong play continues.

“Maybe it’s them getting to know each other a little bit in the dressing room, away from the rink, and they’ve found a little more chemistry that way,” Huska said of Huberdeau and Kadri.

The two came to Calgary in the summer of 2022 and became fast friends, which is now having an impact on the scoresheet.

Kadri and Huberdeau played about half the season together in 2022-23 to mixed results. They were on the ice for 27 goals for and 25 goals against and 57 per cent of scoring chances at five-on-five, hardly ideal numbers for a duo that started more than 60 per cent of its shifts in the offensive zone and was expected to be the Flames’ top line.

Eventually, former head coach Darryl Sutter rotated Huberdeau with Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund, while Kadri played with younger players like Walker Duehr and Jakob Pelletier.

Huberdeau and Kadri had brief spells together last season, but weren’t on the same line consistently. Now they’re reunited, and their relationship is paying off.

“It translates, for sure,” Kadri said. “The more you’re around somebody, the more familiar you get with them, the more you understand their personality.”

Huberdeau said the growing off-ice friendship has made for better communication.

“It becomes easier because you can really [communicate] little, small details that sometimes you wouldn’t tell the guy,” he said. “We can go through it and help each other out there…it’s easy to talk together.”

They’re both competitive, play golf, and embrace being faces of the franchise.

“We just got along right away,” Huberdeau said. “We like to do some betting a little, competing against each other…we just like to get under [each] other’s skin. Naz can take it. It’s all fun.”

Huberdeau and Kadri hit the fairways this summer when Huberdeau was in Toronto, and they have also competed on Calgary courses.

“He’s the better player,” Huberdeau said. “He gives me strokes. He doesn’t want to give me strokes, because sometimes I can play good, but he’s a better player.”

Huberdeau playfully admitted last week that it hasn’t been easy to find a centre during his two-plus seasons in Calgary, but he’s hopeful the latest connection with Kadri will last.

“I mean, I think I’ve tried with everybody,” said Huberdeau. “So, I had to go back to the first one. I did the full cycle.”

Two years after they arrived in the city together, Huberdeau is a changed player. He no longer creates offence off the rush and instead crashes the net and has embraced a two-way game. He kills penalties and is trusted in late-game situations.

“I’m feeling better,” Huberdeau said, of how he’s grown. “I think I’m playing with more confidence and making more plays, and [Pospisil] is playing well too. He’s the one that drives the forecheck and gets on guys and creates room.”

Kadri is one of the first to publicly vouch for Huberdeau.

The former Florida Panther has struggled with the expectations of the eight-year, $84 million contract he signed before he played a shift in Flames’ colours, but his linemate has full belief in him.

“He’s a great friend of mine and obviously I understand how hard he wants to battle out there and how well he wants things to go,” Kadri said. “He’s a competitive guy and ultra skilled. That friendship translates on the ice, as we’re seeing.”

Huberdeau has said that he pays less attention to the outside noise than before. He did, however, insist that one detail of his relationship with Kadri be made public.

“He’s the guy that I love beating the most,” he said. “I think the past two rounds [of golf], I’ve beat him. You can put that on there.”