Jonathan Huberdeau’s disastrous 2025-2026 season has come to an end. The Calgary Flames announced on Thursday that the 32-year-old will undergo hip resurfacing surgery after the Olympic break. He is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the start of the 2026-2027 season.
There’s no hiding the fact that the 2025-2026 season was a disaster for Huberdeau. While his entire Flames tenure was disappointing, that seemed to be the case taking steps in the right direction in 2024-2025, a season in which he scored 28 goals and 62 points.
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This season was very different, as Huberdeau produced at the worst level of his career. In the 50 games he managed, he scored only 10 goals and 25 points. That put him on pace to record just 41 points over a full 82-game schedule.
Considering he makes a whopping $10.5 million per season, you can understand why Flames fans have been hard on Huberdeau. He hasn’t even come close to fulfilling the extension he signed shortly after traded to Calgaryand looks like a shadow of his once elite, point-producing self. That said, general manager (GM) Craig Conroy’s comments on Thursday prove that the lack of results, especially this season, was not due to a lack of effort.
Huberdeau has been sore all season
Although this announcement of the operation was a surprise to both the media and fans, it was not a shock to the organization at all. It sounds like this injury has plagued Huberdeau all season, but he tried to play through it until he simply couldn’t anymore.
“After extensive evaluation, it was determined that this was the best course of action for Jonathan’s long-term health and performance,” Conroy said. “While it is difficult to lose a player of his caliber, our priority is to ensure he is fully healthy going forward. Huberdeau has managed hip-related symptoms throughout the season. The decision to proceed with the surgery was made in collaboration with Jonathan, his representative, our medical staff and specialists to support his long-term well-being.”
Conroy also revealed that Huberdeau had been receiving injections throughout the season to best limit his pain.
The fact that Huberdeau has kept things out of the closet for so long is quite impressive and shows how much he cares. Even more impressive is the fact that he never complained or made any comment about getting less than 100 percent. That’s pretty remarkable considering all the bullshit he’s endured from many Flames fans over his less-than-ideal contract.
Could there be a recovery in store?
The positive thing about all of this is that it shows that Huberdeau may not be as bad over the mound this season as feared. No one expects him to come back the 115-point player that he was in 2021-2022 as a member of the Florida Panthers, but the hope was that he could continue to put up similar stats as he did in 2024-2025. His poor performances in 2025/26 now appear to be largely due to the injury he was struggling with.
It also says a lot about Huberdeau that he was willing to go out and compete every night despite being far less than 100 percent. Although he received enormous criticism for his struggles, he went out every night and tried to get through it. It shows how much character and pride he has.
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While his play since arriving in Calgary has certainly been frustrating, playing through such an injury should show Flames fans that his struggles are not due to a lack of effort. While his contract is a burden, the fact that he was willing to go out and give his teammates and the organization everything he had every night in a season with such low expectations should go a long way in earning the respect of this Flames fanbase.
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