Flames set MacKenzie Weegar asking price; what it means for the Maple Leafs
Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
The Calgary Flames have reportedly set the price for Mackenzie Weegar this upcoming deadline and for the Maple Leafs the cost is way higher than they can afford.
As the NHL season resumes on Wednesday, that means that teams are going to take a look at their current situation and manage through the next few games in an attempt to figure out whether they should be buyers or sellers.
For the Calgary Flames, they are a team who are in a pretty rough spot. After a strong finish last year, they are doing anything but playing well this year and are looking to potentially sell off more assets.
Rasmus Andersson was traded, Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman are being thrown around heavily, and there could be a market for a guy like Jonathan Huberdeau and Zach Whitecloud.
Though there's one player who would definitely help out any team albeit it'll be an expensive one.
Flames set Weegar's price and it's starting off expensive
Mackenzie Weegar is a player who very well could be dealt this season, and with the Flames looking to get younger, the 32-year old doesn't necessarily fit into a rebuild.
He has 20 points in 56 games along with 129 blocks and 127 hits but he also has a ghastly minus-32 rating; while Calgary hasn't been good at all, that's still a bit worrying.
But any team who is looking to deal for him is going to end up paying -- a lot.
According to Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen, the price for Weegar has been set and the Flames are not letting him go for cheap that's for sure:
League executives believe the Flames would want a top draft pick (first- or second-round) and a high-end prospect or roster player for Weegar. We won't speculate on what the asking price would be from the Senators because we haven't heard.
Oof, for any team that's a tough sell especially for a guy making $6.25-million for the next five years after this season, and he'll be a free agent when he's 37.
Toronto has no real fight in the Mackenzie Weegar trade talks
But for the Toronto Maple Leafs it's pretty much a non-factor, and though they would love to move on from Morgan Rielly -- Weegar isn't the guy.
First off, the price to acquire him is not feasible considering Toronto doesn't have the assets necessary, and unless they want to get rid of Easton Cowan or Ben Danford then they aren't getting close.
Then you factor in his contract with Rielly already in tow and you have $13-million+ being given to two defenders who are already past 30.
But even if the team had the money, the only reason they would get him is because he adds a lot more defensive help than Rielly with the same offensive output.
Is that really worth mortgaging the last part of the future over? Not at all, and you add the tension between Brad Treliving and the Flames; that's the cherry on top.
As much as it would be nice for the Maple Leafs to bring in Mackenzie Weegar, unless they somehow stumble into a bunch of assets in the next week, they best move on to another player.
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