Latest On MacKenzie Weegar

There’s certainly no doubt over whether MacKenzie Weegar wants to stay in Calgary. The Flames’ newcomer has made it very clear that he wants to sign an extension, and soon.

In Eric Francis’ new piece for Sportsnet, Weegar’s agent (and uncle) Matthew Ebbs explains that while they will be open to some discussions during the season, they would much prefer getting something done before it starts. Weegar “doesn’t want to be dealing with [it] in the media room” according to Ebbs, who notes how his client doesn’t want to be a distraction.

The 28-year-old Weegar is in the final season of a three-year, $9.75MM contract he signed in 2020, and is arguably one of the biggest bargains in the league. After scoring 44 points in 80 games last season, while averaging more than 23 minutes a night, he is likely looking for a substantial raise on the $3.25MM cap hit he’ll carry this year. An unrestricted free agent next summer, the Flames also have an incentive to get a contract done as soon as possible. Calgary witnessed exactly what can happen when you wait, watching Johnny Gaudreau leave them to test the open market.

Interestingly, while the Flames don’t have much extra cap space for the 2023-24 season, they are about to gain a huge amount of flexibility the year after. That’s when the salary cap is expected to take a sharp upward turn, and Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov, and Oliver Kylington are all scheduled for unrestricted free agency. Though some of those names will be extended, others could be flipped for future assets and cap space, in order to facilitate new contracts for Weegar and fellow newcomer Jonathan Huberdeau, who signed an eight-year, $84MM extension soon after arriving in Calgary.

That flexibility starts to disappear with every new contract, however, meaning that signing Weegar will likely close the door on at least one of those expiring veterans. The Calgary front office is trying to navigate the loss of two 100-point players in one summer without having to need to rebuild the core, and every financial decision will have drastic ramifications on the rest. While Weegar wants it done as soon as possible, it’s a delicate dance for the Flames over the next 24 months.