Jonathan Huberdeau reveals how the trade call really went down!

It was reported earlier this summer that when the blockbuster trade that sent Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers and Jonathan Huberdeau in return to the Calgary Flames, the latter wasn’t “particularly happy with how everything played out.”

On Tuesday, in an interview with Daily Face-off’s Matt Larkin, Huberdeau revealed how he found out he had been moved and how the trade call with his former general manager, Bill Zito went down. The forward had just wrapped up a game of beer league hockey and his phone rang.

“I don’t think he’s calling me for an extension at this time of night,” Huberdeau told his friends.

He was right. Prior to the monster trade, there had been talks held between the Panthers and his agent, Allan Walsh, with the Huberdeau camp reportedly expecting an offer to be forthcoming. That offer would never come though, and instead the next time Huberdeau and his representation heard from the Panthers it was to notify them of a trade.

A blindsided Huberdeau revealed to Larkin how he reacted to Zito’s brief phone call.

“I didn’t have any words to say back.”

We can understand how shocking the trade was. Fans could not believe it had taken place with Huberdeau being the key piece Calgary received in return for trading Tkachuk. The Flames also acquired MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a conditional 2025 first-round pick in the trade.

Huberdeau needed time to let the dust settle, but then met with Flames GM Brad Treliving and ended up the richest contract in franchise history, an eight-year, $84-million contract extension.

“And I think we have a really good team. That excited me. I liked how he wanted to build that team, and that made me want to stay there for a long time.”

While the trade might have been a tough pill to swallow that left Huberdeau speechless, we bet his lucrative deal made it easier to digest.