Huberdeau's agent rips Flames: Negativity 'sucks the joy' from players

Allan Walsh is taking aim at the Calgary Flames and perhaps head coach Darryl Sutter.

The outspoken agent, who represents Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau, tagged the club in a critical tweet Thursday night.

One day later, Huberdeau said he wasn't aware of Walsh's tweet until Friday morning.

"It doesn't come from me," Huberdeau told the media, including TSN. "Yeah, it's my agent, but it's from him. It's his account. He made that tweet, so that doesn't reflect on me or on the guys. We all love each other, we're a close team, and we've got to grind this out and make the playoffs."

The 29-year-old offered a playful response when asked if he would've preferred Walsh not put his team on blast.

"Yeah, I wouldn't be here right now, talking to you guys," Huberdeau said with a laugh, according to Sportsnet's Eric Francis. "I'd be on my way home."

Huberdeau also tried to downplay any potential concerns about his relationship with Sutter.

"Darryl is Darryl. Sometimes you won't like what the coach (does). Some nights you do like it," he said. "You're never 100% happy with the coach's decision ... but me and Darryl have a great connection, great friendship, and you know, he's good. He wants to win just like us."

When Sutter was asked specifically about Walsh's assertion that the joy was being sucked out of Flames players, he pointed out that Huberdeau is Walsh's only client on the team.

"That's not really 'players,' is it?" the bench boss asked.

Sutter also insisted tweets won't impact his team's chemistry.

"Social media and what anybody says doesn't affect a locker room ever. Ever," he said. "When you've got a tight group, you keep it tight."

The Flames were expected to be one of the best teams in the Pacific Division and the NHL as a whole this season following a wild summer in which they responded to Johnny Gaudreau's departure in free agency by acquiring Huberdeau and defenseman Mackenzie Weegar from the Florida Panthers in a trade for Matthew Tkachuk.

However, Calgary has underachieved in 2022-23, as the squad sits fifth in the division after Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. The Flames have matched the Minnesota Wild's 61 points through 55 games, but the Wild currently occupy the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference because they have a game in hand.

Huberdeau has been by far the club's most disappointing skater this campaign. He's produced only 10 goals and 26 assists in 52 games after tying a career high with 30 goals and obliterating his previous personal best with 85 assists across 80 contests.

Walsh has a history of stirring the pot in service of his clients. In summer 2020, he tweeted a photo of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury - then of the Vegas Golden Knights - featuring a superimposed sword inscribed with head coach Peter DeBoer's name stabbing the netminder in the back.

Thursday's tweet wasn't Walsh's first time criticizing the Flames, either. In 2018, the agent questioned why Michael Frolik was a healthy scratch and wondered if his client was being run out of town.

Walsh's other clients include injured Carolina Hurricanes star Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin, and Red Wings skaters David Perron and Filip Hronek.