Connect with us

Calgary Flames

Sutter Explains Huberdeau’s Disappearance: “He Had to Take a Sh!t”

Published

on

Jonathan Huberdeau and Connor McDavid in the Battle of Alberta
Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire

The crappy jokes are flying after Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter dropped a bomb in his post-game press conference on Saturday night.

Jonathan Huberdeau disappeared from the bench about halfway through the first period of their 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. But the Battle of Alberta didn’t claim the supreme passer to injury, according to the coach.

“I think he had to go take a s*#t,” Sutter said, straight-faced, after the Oilers comeback.

Considering Huberdeau also trotted out in front of the microphone carriers afterward, it doesn’t seem like Sutter was joking or misleading, either.

Injured players are rarely if ever available to the media after a game.

But there was no potty talk.

There have been rumblings of an illness running through the Calgary Flames locker-room.

If we’re talking runs, there’s a much more important one to focus on with Huberdeau.

Or maybe a lack of one.

The NHL’s top assist man last season hasn’t strung together much in the way of consistency so far. With a 5-2-0 record, the Flames aren’t and shouldn’t be concerned. However, it would be more assuring for the franchise’s future this season if the talk surrounding Huberdeau was focusing on passing pucks rather than stools.

Or his shots rather than his s#*t’s.

The man who signed the richest contract in Calgary Flames history had a prime opportunity in the slot late in the game but couldn’t corral the puck.

“It bounced over my stick. Obviously you would like to have that one back,” Huberdeau said. “I feel right now that’s how it’s going. I’ve got to be better and bury that puck.”

The Flames were up 2-1 in the third when Connor McDavid took over. The NHL’s most dominant player took advantage of Jacob Markstrom when the Flames goalie missed stopping a hard dump-in behind the net. He wasn’t quite set, and McDavid snapped a quick shot into the cage. Then the Oilers captain earned an assist on the winner, smacking a pass off Zach Hyman’s skate a few minutes later to complete the comeback and earn the win.

“We didn’t’ play bad. A couple of bad bounces, I feel, at the end. Obviously the best player took advantage.”

Best player in the Battle of Alberta.

Maybe Huberdeau can be No. 2.