"They wouldn’t have won with him" "Man stop crying": NHL fans react to Jonathan Huberdeau's take on seeing his former team win the Stanley Cup

On Tuesday, Jonathan Huberdeau shared mixed feelings about the Florida Panthers winning the Stanley Cup.

Huberdeau, who spent 10 years with the Panthers before being traded to the Calgary Flames in 2022, said it was tough to watch his former teammates win the Cup, especially after going through tough times together.

"It’s hard to see the guys lift the Cup," Huberdeau said (via La Presse). "You say to yourself, 'I was there for 10 years, during more difficult times.' But that’s how you build a team. When you're young, you don't care, you just want to build your career. Now I'm back in that situation, but a little older."

Fans reacted to Huberdeau's comments.

"They wouldn’t have won with him," one fan tweeted.

"Man stop crying. Don't chase the bag next time if you would rather experience success," another fan tweeted.

"I feel for him, but a big reason they lifted the Cup is because they traded him away for Tkachuk. Same situation as the Raptors trading DeRozan for Kawhi," one X user said.

"If Huberdeau was better in the playoffs, he wouldn’t be watching his old teammates hosting the Cup, he could’ve been lifting it with them, one fan tweeted.

"No one forced him to sign a long term $80mm+ deal in Calgary. He chose to retire a flame. Could’ve walked in free agency a year after the trade. Can’t say I blame him for taking the bag, next generation won’t have to lift a finger. Miss him though." a fan commented.

"No knowing they would never done it with you is what should be hard," a fan tweeted.

Jonathan Huberdeau on contract expectations and former teammates' success

Jonathan Huberdeau said he was pleased with his former teammates' success and praised Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad and Sam Bennett for their hard work.

“I'm happy for the guys, they worked hard," Huberdeau said. "[Aleksander] Barkov, I've been with him for years, he works so hard. Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett too."

Huberdeau scored 115 points with the Panthers in the 2021-22 season. In his first two years with the Flames, he registered 55 and 52 points, respectively. Huberdeau, who is in the second year of an $84 million contract, hopes to improve those numbers going forward.

“It’s certain that I’m hard to trade," Hubderdeau said. "I knew it when I signed the contract, but I didn't know how it was going to happen. I thought I was going to produce points, that it would be good, but the more defensive system of play didn't help."