CALGARY – So much for the narrative that no one wants to sign in Calgary.
With a stroke of the pen Friday morning, MacKenzie Weegar became the third NHL standout player in the past seven weeks to commit long-term to a team and city that spent the first part of the summer being rejected
An eight-year, $50 million ($6.25 AAV) contract extension for the 28-year-old defenseman cements the trade that brought him to the Flames as a package for Matthew Tkachuk as a stroke of genius for GM Brad Treliving.
Consider the trade returns: Both Weegar and Huberdeau are now signed long-term (the latter to eight years and $84 million); Prospect Cole Schwindt had a decent NHL camp and will have a breakout game with his AHL affiliate; and, Florida’s first-round pick was instrumental in allowing the Flames to shed Sean Monahan’s contract, opening the door to the signing of Nazem Kadri.
All of this turned a sordid situation involving the departures of Johnny Gaudreau and Tkachuk into a retooled core that is locked in and loaded to contend for several years.
Somehow, against all odds, Treliving cultivated an environment that a rookie like Weegar and everyone else wanted to be a part of.
“One of the reasons I signed here is because I believe in this team,” Weegar said after news of his deal broke during the morning skate.
“They want to win, and here we have a winning team, a winning coach, a winning culture.”
Pressed for more information on why he quickly decided he wanted to stay in Calgary long-term, Weegar had this to say.
“The winning culture — Looch (Milan Lucic) and (Blake) Coleman, Naz, Darryl (Sutter), a lot of guys that have won here, and that’s important,” he said.
“We need it down the stretch. They want to win now. I want to win now. I think everybody in this room wants to win here. The city wants to win. Passionate fanbase. Ever since I got here, everybody was really excited for all three of us to come here”.
You can bet Weegar was highly influenced by Treliving’s ability to paint Huberdeau just weeks after the shock of leaving Florida.
They are best friends.
“He kept elbowing me in the gut or two, saying, ‘When are you going to do it?'” he laughed. “I kept telling him the same thing as you guys, ‘hopefully soon’. Now maybe I can get a house next to him or something.”
Keeping with a strong Treliving tradition when it comes to in-house extensions, the cap’s success was slightly less than many in the hockey world expected.
Not an easy task considering Weegar would have had plenty of suitors waiting for him on the open market next summer.
While it’s cliché for critics to decree that any max deal for a veteran won’t age well, the reality is this: With salary cap growth looming, there’s plenty of reason to believe Weegar is positioned to deliver a great value for most. of this
After all, he fits into the top six that may be the best in the league.
“Everybody was excited, they just shook my hand and said ‘congratulations,'” Weegar said of his teammates’ reaction.
“Some of them said: ‘well deserved’, but they don’t really know. They haven’t seen me play either, too much. The expectations are high among the teammates, which is great.”
Therein lies one of the most fascinating elements of the signing: No one quite knows yet where he will fit on this most talented blue line.
Expected to start alongside Chris Tanev in the team’s primary closing pairing, the versatile puck-moving defenseman will have a lot to prove if he’s considered better than his teammate, as well-rounded as Noah Hanifin or as integral like Rasmus Andersson. .
Of his 44 points last season as part of Florida’s top pairing, only three came on the power play, a number that will surely change as Sutter gives him opportunities to grow his game with the advantage of the ‘man.
When world-class partner Aaron Ekblad was injured last season, Weegar continued to post astronomical analytics while leading the Panthers to the President’s Trophy.
As great as he’s been in recent years as Florida’s star, no one doubts there’s much more upside than he’s shown.
“Good player. Good city. Good team,” said Sutter, who admittedly hasn’t seen much of Weegar in the preseason. “He’s a good player. He can play both ways. He wants to play. He’s coachable. He’s the right age group. He’s got a lot going for him.”
Shortly after arriving in Calgary to acclimate, there was never much doubt that this deal would be done. His agent/uncle Matthew Ebb said.
Still, there was relief at the signing, which the Ottawa native said will be followed by emotional reflection considering how far he’s come in a journey that saw the last pick of the draft battling adversity and rejection at almost every level of hockey.
“It means everything,” Weegar said of the life-changing pact. “When I signed the deal, I just thought about how long it’s been for me from Junior B, to the (East) Coast (League) and now here. All my friends and family and everything the support, I don’t think it’s me who signed the deal, it’s everyone around me.
“I think my mom has always thought that and her brother Matt, my uncle, my agent. Those two have always believed in me. My friends. Everyone has been very supportive. When times were tough , everyone raised me. I really have no words. I think it will sink in a little bit later. It will be emotional later. I’m going to call my mom and dad. I couldn’t be more grateful.
“This is madness”.
For the player, as well as for the organization.