The Calgary Flames have every right to be pleased with themselves for the package they received from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk.
The way Flames GM Brad Treliving described it, the Flames feel like they got one of the NHL’s elite offsensive players in Jonathan Huberdeau, a first-pairing defenceman in Mackenzie Weegar and a prospect who is brimming with potential, in Cole Schwindt. Add a 2025 first-round pick in there, and yeah, the Flames have to be pretty happy this weekend.
Here’s the scoop on the three players the Flames added to their ranks in Friday night’s blockbuster trade:
Jonathan Huberdeau
From: Saint-Jerome, Quebec
Birthdate: June 4, 1993
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 202 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Position: Left wing
2021-’22 stats: 80 GP, 30 goals, 85 assists, 115 points, 54 PIM
Career stats: 671 GP, 198 goals, 415 assists, 613 points, 341 PIM
What Treliving said: “I think we’ve got an elite player that we’ve returned in Huberdeau. Second in the league in scoring. Has been a top player throughout his career in the league. He’s one of the premier forwards in the league, not only what he does, the ability to make other players around him better. He’s dynamic. He’s competitive. We added a premier forward to our team.”
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Mackenzie Weegar
From: Ottawa, Ontario
Birthdate: Jan. 7, 1994
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 200 lbs.
Shoots: Right
Position: Defence
2021-’22 stats: 80 GP, 8 goals, 36 assists, 44 points, 81 PIM
Career stats: 306 GP, 27 goals, 94 assists, 121 points, 259 PIM
What Treliving said: “We look at him as a top-end defencemen, one of the top defencemen in the league, quite frankly. He’s underrated, quite frankly. Ultimately this will come down to where Darryl slots him. Obviously we had lots of conversations over the last week over where he could slot on our team. He’s a right-shot that played the left side, which is a little bit unique. That’s really where he played. He played with Ekblad the last two years. There is some natural combinations you could look at.
“His ability to close plays, his ability to kill plays, not only in the defensive zone but the ability to do so through the neutral ice, the ability to transition pucks, the ability to get it going north-to-south, the ability to close plays and get it going the other way is at one of the highest rates in the league … his ability to deny zone entries. We think we’ve made our defense a significantly stronger defence.”
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Cole Schwindt
From: Kitchener, Ontario
Birthdate: April 25, 2001
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 195 lbs.
Shoots: Right
Position: Centre
2021-’22 stats (in AHL): 72 GP, 19 goals, 21 assists, 40 points, 21 PIM
What Treliving said: “Our scouts really like this guy. He’s a guy we talked about for a while. Big, long, rangy centerman. We think he can play in the middle six. We think he could be real good in the three-hole. His ability to kill penalties, win faceoffs. High-character kid. This goes back to his days in the OHL. He was a part of it.
“You go through these pieces, and as I told Cole today, ‘There might be some sexier names that the public knows in this deal more than yours, but you’re a part of this. Getting you was part of the deal and something we needed to happen.’ We’re excited to get Cole Schwindt.”
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