When the Calgary Flames traded Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers, it was Jonathan Huberdeau coming back in the return that had fans in Calgary so excited. After all, they were getting a player who had been one of the league’s best offensive producers for several years and was coming off a career-best 115-point season.
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The other NHL player coming to Calgary in the deal was MacKenzie Weegar, who was much less known. While his stats indicated he was a solid defenceman with some offensive skill, he wasn’t a very talked about player, given that the Florida Panthers are a team that often struggles to get the attention of the media.
While Huberdeau really struggled early in his Flames tenure, Weegar wasn’t a whole lot better. The 30-year-old defenceman wasn’t producing offensively and had some major inopportune gaffes in his own end of the ice.
While Huberdeau’s struggles have continued, Weegar’s have not. He improved in a big way over the second half of the 2022-23 season, giving fans reason to be optimistic heading into 2023-24. Through the first half, he has not let them down.
Weegar Has Been Outstanding
Weegar was able to open the scoring for the Flames in Thursday’s loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, marking his second straight game with a goal. That now gives him 12 on the season, which has far surpassed his previous career high of eight set in 2021-22.
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Weegar’s impressive 12 goals are tied for second amongst all NHL defencemen and are just one shy of Rasmus Dahlin’s league-leading 13. They are ahead of some other excellent offensive blueliners who are having terrific seasons, such as Cale Makar, Evan Bouchard, Victor Hedman, and Adam Fox. They also rank fourth amongst all Flames skaters, with only Yegor Sharangovich, Blake Coleman, and Nazem Kadri having more.
As for points, Weegar has 29 on the season, which is quite an impressive total, given the Flames’ scoring woes. He leads all Flames defencemen in points and is fifth amongst his teammates. Though it looks like Huberdeau may never work out in Calgary, fans can at least take some comfort in knowing they got a very good defenceman back in the Tkachuk deal.
Deserving of All-Star Selection
Because of the Flames’ struggles this season, they have just one player in Elias Lindholm that will be representing them at the All-Star Game. The selection of Lindholm was a very strange one, as several others were more deserving, none more so than Weegar.
Though Weegar will never be a shutdown defenceman to the level of a player like Chris Tanev, his defensive game has improved leaps and bounds since the midway point of the 2022-23 season. Pair that with his offensive skill, and you have someone who has become one of the better blueliners in the entire NHL.
What’s so unfortunate is that Weegar’s excellent season isn’t getting noticed due to the Flames’ struggles. That was proven by the fact he wasn’t selected for the All-Star Game, as he was more than deserving.
Weegar’s Leadership Good to Have Around
Though he doesn’t wear a letter, fans have also come to realize how strong of a leader Weegar is. He is quick to take accountability when he isn’t at his best and isn’t afraid to call out his team when needed. The next few seasons could be tough for the retooling Flames, which makes having a leader like Weegar locked up long-term all the better. He won’t only help keep the team relatively competitive, but he will serve as a great example to several young players the Flames have both on their current roster and in the farm. If the Flames can turn things around in the next few years, fans across the league will soon enough take notice of just how talented a player Weegar is.
