The Calgary Flames have gone through a ton of different line combinations this season when it comes to the forward group, while the defensive pairs have remained mostly intact since the season kicked off in October. Rasmus Andersson and newcomer Kevin Bahl have been a pretty rock-solid pair, and for a majority of the season, Brayden Pachal and Jake Bean have made up the team’s third pair.
The only pair that has seen a lot of changes this season has been the pair that MacKenzie Weegar has operated. Weegar has seen his partner change a few times, between Joel Hanley, Tyson Barrie, the aforementioned Pachal, and Daniil Miromanov, the guy he has seen the most time a side of. None of those guys will be the long-term fix playing beside Weegar. While the top priority for the team moving forward will be finding a top-line, elite centre, the management team will have to find a long-term partner for Weegar, and they should be focusing on that sooner rather than later.
The solution may come from within the organization
There is no doubting the Flames defence prospects that they have brought in within the last year since Craig Conroy took over the reins as the club’s GM. That has seemed to be his focus when trading for and drafting young talent, since taking over, Conroy has brought in Artem Grushnikov, Hunter Brzustewicz, Zayne Parekh and Henry Mews. Those are four players that the team has high expectations for as part of the team for many years to come.
Grushnikov and Brzustewicz may be closer to the NHL than Parekh and Mews, which may give them an arm up when it comes to claiming a potential spot next to Weegar. It likely would not come until a couple of years from now, but the upside on all four players is immense, and if even one of them can develop into a player who can complement Weegar, then that would probably be the best-case scenario as the Flames would not have to dish out any assets to acquire a player capable of filling the void next to Weegar.
Could the Flames look at the trade market or free agency?
This is a route I do not expect the Flames to take, but we might as well see what could be available anyway. There may not be a ton out there on the trade market and I don’t foresee the Flames going that way regardless.
If the Flames are going to spend assets on a player for trade, I think their goal is to find a young centre that fits the age group of the rebuild. I would assume if they were looking for a defenceman, they would probably be looking for a player in the same age range. The only player that comes to mind who might be available at some point would be Bowen Byram of the Buffalo Sabres. We know the Sabres have been a disaster and there have been some reports that Byram would want to play on a team that would use him higher in the lineup. Well, a spot next to Weegar is surely higher in the lineup. He would cost a lot to acquire, so I really can’t see the Flames making a move there, but it is fun to think about nonetheless.
When it comes to the free agency class in 2025, there are a few big names that stand out among the rest. Dimitry Orlov and Jakob Chychrun are both set to hit the free-agent market when it opens on July 1 next year. Again, like the trade mentioned above, I cannot see the Flames signing either player and quite frankly I don’t think either one of them would want to sign in Calgary. However, both players would push the needle for the Flames and would give them a nice top-four, but it would be expensive against the salary cap and neither player really fits the window of the rebuild.
Whichever way you put it, Weegar needs a long-term partner
It is pretty obvious that finding a partner for Weegar is going to be really important moving forward. As I mentioned above, the players that Weegar has been paired with this season are just not going to cut it. To Weegar’s credit, he has absolutely held his own no matter who he has played with and that is hard to do when he has been given fringe NHLers for most of the season.
However, he can only do so much with what he is given no matter how good he is. A centre is and should be the priority for the team to find, but that is almost certain to have to come through the draft. The Flames either need to go through the trade market to find someone for Weegar, or they have to do the best job they can to develop one of the many defence prospects they have.
That will be extremely important for the team moving forward.
