Florida fans will be in for a surprise when they see how slow Tkachuk is. Zito built that team by accruing a bunch of guys that were raw but were known for playing quickly in transition. His footspeed is so limiting that I think it's within the realm of possibility that 34 year old Huberdeau will be as good or better than 29 year old Tkachuk.
The issue with the Flames is that we have too many players with low foot speed. That's why Tkachuk skating is an issue. His foot speed will not be an issue in Florida because the fastest thing on the ice is typically the puck. That's something that MT excels at.
The quick transition and passing of the puck is also not an issue. It's literally one of the complaints in the Jack Han video of Huberdeau vs someone like Gaudreau who likes holding onto it longer like Kane vs being a relay. If anything, it's a good fit that he will have access to centres like Barkov and Bennett who have no issues digging and holding onto the puck for some tic tac toe plays.
Some of the info is overblown, sure. But IMO MT is a good fit.
Flames on the other hand are going to have to figure out how to retool their puck carrying facet to their group's game. In the past it was all deferred to Gaudreau and a handful of players. Now the group will have to learn via committee or acquire players who will do it for them. I do think the Flames can figure out this minor/major stylistic difference post Gaudreau/Tkachuk, but there might be some initial growing pains.
I think Tkachuk is very good in his own zone, especially at breakouts on his side once the team has acquired the puck. Even a bunch of Gaudreau's scoring last year came on Tkachuk stretch passes from the defensive zone.
Huberdeau does have a repuation for blowing the zone on the other hand. Maybe he'll be better defensively under Sutter though, but if that costs him offense, people are going to be concerned.
Oddly enough, this stylistic aspect sounds similar between Huberdeau and Tkachuk. It'll be interesting to see how he integrates. But without JG as a puck carrier, I think a style tweak will need to be implemented for the players. They'll need to take on a little more in terms of puck carrying responsibility.
However, I think the Sutter thing is silly. Gaudreau had those criticisms and he responded great. I don't think Sutter is against Huberdeau blowing the zone. Sutter likely just wants Huberdeau to play positionally 5-15 feet closer to the net vs the typical "no defense" criticisms of forwards. That way he can break up more plays or force the opposition to re-enter the zone.
