Scout’s Analysis: How did Calgary do in the MacKenzie Weegar trade?

Earlier on Wednesday, MacKenzie Weegar told Eric Francis that, if he were asked to waive his no-trade clause, he’d consider it. Weegar wasn’t making a trade request; he was facing facts that the Flames are rebuilding, not close to the playoffs, and at 32 years old, he still has little playoff experience in his career so far.

So the table was set for a trade.

Hours later, one was finalized.

The Flames sent Weegar to Utah for defenceman Olli Maatta, collegiate forward Jonathan Castagna and three second-round picks, all in the 2026 draft. Those originally belonged to Ottawa, the Rangers and Utah.

Flames GM Craig Conroy explained that Maatta had Calgary on his 10-team no-trade list, but was convinced to come in. Weegar had a full no-trade clause and, after considering his options, decided Utah was the way to go.

“His thing was he wants to go to a team that has a chance to make the playoffs this year and going forward,” Conroy told Pat Steinberg on Sportsnet 960 The FAN. “With him being 32, that was a big thing for him. I don’t think it was an easy decision.

“He’s a very competitive guy. He gives everything he has every night.”

Maatta, a 31-year-old defender, has been around the block. Approaching 800 career NHL games, the Finnish Olympian won two Stanley Cups early in his career with Pittsburgh, and that experience is what’s valuable to the Flames, who have a young team coming along that could use the leadership.

“I see (Maatta) as a solid, good puck mover, PK guy. I don’t see him on the PP,” Conroy continued. “But I do see him playing good minutes for us. He’s going to be able to help these younger guys along.”

Castagna is an interesting prospect, a 20-year-old in his third season with Cornell, where he leads the team in scoring and wears an ‘A’. He could be added to the organization as soon as this spring.

But, perhaps, the best part of the trade for the rebuilding Flames was the three second-round picks. The Flames now have six picks in the first two rounds of this year’s draft, and all of them would land inside the top 50 overall as of today. Whether they are all used to pick up new prospects in the pipeline or not, these are assets Conroy can take into the off-season and try to get creative with.

“You can use those picks to maybe move up in the draft. You can use those picks to make trades for players. It gives you a lot of opportunities,” Conroy said.

So that’s one big domino down for the Flames, and not the one we expected weeks ago. Without retaining any salary, Calgary still has one retention slot left and may have to keep it open for a Nazem Kadri trade. Meanwhile, Blake Coleman also hangs out there as a trade candidate. The rebuild continues, aiming to be more competitive in 2027 when their new arena opens

For Utah, this trade signifies a break from how they’ve approached trade deadlines in the past, with a clear mission to get to the playoffs. Holding the West’s first wild card spot with a healthy plus-24 goal differential, the Mammoth have begun spending their picks and prospects after hoarding futures for years.

For more on the trade between Calgary and Utah, we turn to our scout, Jason Bukala:

SCOUT’S ANALYSIS

To Utah: MacKenzie Weegar

I have a bias whenever I’m tasked with writing or talking about MacKenzie Weegar, and the great career he has mined for himself over the years. When I was in Florida, we drafted Weegar with the sixth-last pick of the draft in 2013 (206^th overall). The fact that he has played 610 career NHL games so far speaks to his hard work and determination. 

Utah GM Bill Armstrong and the coaching staff with the Mammoth will be blown away by the pro that Weegar is on and off the ice. The two-way defenceman’s stats this season don’t tell the entire story. People will be quick to judge his minus-35 rating as a massive concern, but the reality is the Flames have struggled to score goals, and Weegar has been tasked with facing top-line matchups every night.

I fully expect the Mammoth will value the fact that he is willing to play physical and block shots. Weegar has been credited with 130 hits and 143 shot blocks this season. He averages over 23 minutes per game of ice time, can be deployed in all situations, and provides secondary offence. 

Utah has been building towards being a playoff team, and the addition of Weegar sends a clear message to the team and their fans that Armstrong believes the time is now to spend assets and become part of the discussion in the Stanley Cup tournament. 

To Calgary: Olli Maatta, Jonathan Castagna, three second-round picks in 2026

Castagna is an NHL prospect. He’s the leading scorer for the Cornell Big Red at the college level (14G-18A) and gets between 18-21 minutes per game of ice time while being deployed in all situations. Castagna is trustworthy in all three zones. When he isn’t producing offence, he buckles down defensively and can be relied upon to match up against top lines and win key face-offs. He plays with pace and, in my opinion, projects as a bottom-six NHL forward who might earn some spot duty on a second power play unit. 

Calgary has, no doubt, done its due diligence ahead of this transaction and feels well-positioned to sign Castagna to an entry-level contract at the conclusion of his season at Cornell. 

Part of their process would have involved delving into the details of Castagna’s game. To illustrate some of the trustworthy intricacies of his overall game, here are his shot metrics (left graphic) alongside his face-off success rate (right graphic). 

As for the draft capital, I’m not the least surprised about what the Flames received in return from Utah in this transaction. Weegar is a pro. He tows the rope in the right direction for his team, and he competes to the best of his ability every single night.

Weegar arrived in Calgary along with Jonathan Huberdeau, Cole Schwindt and a first-round pick in the 2022 trade for Matthew Tkachuk. Looking back on that and seeing what they now received in return for him alone at this deadline four years later speaks to how much Weegar is respected around the league. I suppose an argument can be made that Utah overpaid for his services, but the Mammoth have been stockpiling assets for several years waiting for the opportunity to make these kinds of transactions. 

Conroy deserves a ton of credit here. He communicated with Weegar every step of the way, and they clearly have a mutual respect for each other. The end result is the following draft grid, as it stands today, for the Flames:

Get ready for what’s coming in time, Flames fans. The future is bright.

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