In Calgary, as the dressing room thinned out and the noise of another difficult season lingered in the air, mackenzie weegar didn’t dodge the question that has followed him through the trade-deadline swirl. He sat for a quiet one-on-one and chose directness over deflection: if the Flames asked, he would at least consider waiving his no-trade clause.
The words landed with the weight of a player who has been described as a pillar in Calgary—durable, competitive, productive, and deeply invested in the city—now confronting a season defined by uncertainty and an organization wrestling with how quickly a rebuild can realistically move.
Would Mackenzie Weegar waive his no-trade clause?
When asked whether he would waive it if Calgary requested, Weegar answered carefully, describing it as unfamiliar territory.
“I think everything’s got to be put into consideration at some point. Will I? I don’t know, but obviously it’s the first time I’ve ever been in a situation with a lot of rumors around me. So, it’s new, it’s different, ” he said.
He also made clear he wasn’t seeking the exit. “It’s not something that I wanted to be a part of, ” he said of the speculation. “When I first came here, obviously I wanted to be a part of a winning team. Obviously times change. It’s been four years since then. But I love it… If something did occur, and Connie came up to me and asked, it would be a tough decision, for sure. ”
Weegar framed the moment as a two-way evaluation—an uncomfortable but familiar reality in professional sports when a team’s direction is in flux. “Just like they’ve got to consider trading me, I’ve got to consider all the options too, ” he said. “But I love it here. I want to win here. ”
Why are trade talks intensifying around mackenzie weegar?
The tension around Weegar is inseparable from Calgary’s broader predicament. In the same room where he spoke candidly, the season was described as another lost year, with the rebuild not moving “anywhere near as quickly as anyone hoped. ” In that atmosphere, Weegar acknowledged how strange it feels to keep playing through the uncertainty.
“I kind of just want to focus on how we all have got to find a way to play together, even with all the rumors and stuff. It’s a weird time, for sure, ” he said.
At the same time, the swirl isn’t just ambient noise. A separate thread of the story has emerged around Utah. Elliotte Friedman of TSN said Wednesday, “Hearing Utah and Calgary are closing in on a MacKenzie Weegar deal that awaits his approval. ” The central hinge is the same one Weegar addressed in Calgary: his no-trade clause, and whether he chooses to exercise it.
What Utah might send back has not been made clear. What is clear in the public discussion is that teams have been calling about Weegar, and that right-handed defensemen are described as being in high demand at the deadline.
What the numbers say—and what they don’t
On the ice this season, Weegar has played 60 games with three goals and 18 assists, totaling 21 points. He has averaged 23: 07 in ice time per game. His plus-minus sits at -35, described as the worst mark in the league among defensemen, a snapshot that also reflects the team context around him.
His contract situation is also central to how any move would be structured. Weegar has five years left on a deal that carries a $6. 25 million cap hit, with a no-trade clause until after next season, when it changes to a 10-team no-trade list. He signed an eight-year extension with Calgary worth $50 million before the 2022-23 season and is under contract through 2030-31 at the same $6. 250 million per year cap hit.
Beyond this season, his career totals underline why his name draws attention. Over a 10-year NHL career between the Panthers and Flames, he has played 610 games with 62 goals and 210 assists, plus 1, 135 blocked shots and 1, 345 hits.
Yet even the most complete stat line can’t measure what his remarks revealed: the strain of being “proudly invested” in a place, while living through years without playoff hockey and the day-to-day reality of a roster stuck between retooling and rebuilding.
What happens next for Utah, Calgary, and Mackenzie Weegar?
Any next step turns on approval. Friedman’s description of a deal “that awaits his approval” places agency with the player, even as organizations negotiate around him. Weegar’s own language in Calgary—open to considering everything, unwilling to promise—suggests a decision shaped by circumstance rather than impulse.
In Calgary, Weegar has been portrayed as everything the Flames hoped for when they acquired him: competitive, durable, and committed. He’s also been associated with the push for a new arena, embraced the city, and signed long-term because he believed in the franchise’s direction after arriving in the Matthew Tkachuk trade. The same narrative that makes him valuable to keep also makes the thought of moving him consequential—inside that room, and for the fan base watching the rebuild’s uncertain timeline.
In Utah, the potential impact is different: a team described as closing in on a deal to “shore up their blueline, ” with 21 games left and positioned to break through into the playoffs in their second year in Salt Lake City. Utah has 68 points and holds the top Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, with the Seattle Kraken at 67 in the second spot.
Back in that Calgary dressing room, the human reality remains the same: a player trying to focus on playing through rumors, and a team trying to find cohesion while names circulate. If a decision comes, it will not just mark a transaction—it will mark a turning point in how mackenzie weegar defines what winning, loyalty, and possibility look like from here.
Image caption (alt text): mackenzie weegar speaks in the Calgary dressing room as trade rumors build and a no-trade decision looms.
