As the Calgary Flames begin their much-needed rebuild, questions have come up regarding the future of their veteran players. It’s been rumoured numerous times that the Flames were never interested in doing a full-on teardown, as veterans play an important part during the rebuilding process.
However, players such as Rasmus Andersson, Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman and even Jonathan Huberdeau have all been involved in numerous trade discussions. Given how the Flames facilitated one of the biggest sell-offs in franchise history, it only makes sense that more veterans would find themselves seeking other opportunities. With that being said, it seems like one player has been generating recent interest around the league. MacKenzie Weegar is another veteran who has been involved in trade talks, and the St. Louis Blues have been kicking tires on the 30-year-old Flames defenceman.
Discussions around Weegar happened near the NHL Draft
Reports surrounding these rumours have come from The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta. During an appearance on August 26’s edition of NHL Tonight, Pagnotta was asked about the Flames’ plans for the future and how they’ll handle their veteran players. Pagnotta stated the following:
“Right now Calgary is kind of open, they’re unofficially entertaining the whole thought process of a full-on rebuild. They haven’t officially gone in that direction yet, but if they’re willing to listen on Kadri, Andersson, Weegar, and Huberdeau even, you’ve got to imagine that a rebuild session is not that far behind.”
Regarding Weegar specifically, Pagnotta also mentioned that the Blues expressed interest in him near the 2024 NHL Draft. They eventually chose to offer sheet Edmonton’s Philip Broberg instead, but it just shows that talks were indeed happening. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Flames were engaged in multiple trade discussions around draft day, as their status as a rebuilder would tempt a lot of teams to send trade offers. We’ll see where time takes them, but for now, it seems like the Flames are still in the process of accepting their standing while management comes up with the next steps.
Will the Flames go in the direction of a full teardown?
While it’s important to take Pagnotta’s reports with a grain of salt, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Flames go in this direction. Fans have been calling for a rebuild for years, and the Flames finally took that direction to heart when Craig Conroy was hired as the team’s GM. It’s important that Calgary doesn’t rush this process and spends the next few seasons focusing on development and acquiring meaningful assets for the future.
As for a teardown, I’ll need to see it to believe it. In my opinion, the Flames will still keep some veteran players around as they value the mentorship they bring. Weegar for example will likely be the veteran defenceman they chose to keep as his leadership qualities are something to admire. I honestly think Weegar is going to be a strong candidate for becoming the next captain of the team once Backlund’s career is over.
On the flip side, if the Flames are offered a package for Weegar that is too good to resist, then they’re likely putting ink to paper on it. It’s important that Calgary has a future to look forward to, and with hockey being a business, it’s just a part of the job to make the tough decisions to put yourself in a better position for the long-term.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
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