Darryl Sutter buries Johnny Gaudreau in his praise for Jonathan Huberdeau

The Calgary Flames don't appear to have missed a beat early in the going this season, after an offseason full of change. The Flames, of course, lost superstar forwards Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk in separate transactions this past offseason, but added pieces like Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar and Nazem Kadri. 

So far the team has gone 4-2-0 in the preseason and looks very much like the team who dominated the Pacific Division last season. In other words: it looks like another season of stellar "Darryl Sutter" style hockey in Calgary this year.

And, for what it's worth, Coach Sutter likes what he sees from his group so far. In particular, he likes what he sees from Huberdeau the most and he couldn't help himself from throwing Gaudreau under the bus a bit in his praise for Huberdeau.

Check out some of these comments from Sutter yesterday which some Flames fans are interpreting as a bit of a dig at Gaudreau:

“He’s one of them guys that has the vision just to know where people are and they can see sticks. They don’t see the other jersey. They can see sticks, and they see plays, and they may not have any time, but they can still make them, right? They’re not just putting it to an area or something like that. They’re putting it to where they should shoot, and you have to be ready for that."

“That type of passer is rare in this league. What did he have last year, the most helpers ever by a left-winger? Ever. Pretty unique. Probably the best passer that this team has had in maybe ever.””

- Daryl Sutter

It's that last line about Huberdeau being "the best passer that this team has had in maybe ever," that's the dig at Gaudreau. But, honestly... Darryl's right. By pure metrics, he's right. By gut check or eye test, he's right. He's just right.

I mean, Huberdeau potted an insane 85 assists for the Florida Panthers last season. Gaudreau, by comparison, potted 75 in a season that absolutely blows his career high out of the water. Gaudreau is an excellent passer and playmaker, no doubt, but he's not on the level of Huberdeau. Period.