The Detroit Red Wings have a little over a week until the trade deadline. After standing pat the last couple of years, General Manager Steve Yzerman appears determined to make a move or two, especially with the Red Wings in playoff position. One major area of need Yzerman wants to address is a right-shot defenseman. There is a catch in that Yzerman is looking for one that has term remaining on his contract.

The Red Wings have already been linked to Rasmus Andersson (who was ultimately traded to the Vegas Golden Knights) and Justin Faulk of the St. Louis Blues. But there is now a new name that is being linked to Detroit ahead of the trade deadline.

Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos released his fourth trade board on Tuesday, the first after the conclusion of the Winter Olympics. Kypreos brought up Calgary Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar as a new potential player on the trade block, and listed the Red Wings as a fit.

Nick Kypreos calls Red Wings a fit for MacKenzie Weegar

“With right-handed defencemen in such high demand, teams are calling about him. Weegar has five years left on a contract paying $6.25 million against the cap, but he has a no-trade clause until after next season, when it changes to a 10-team no-trade list. 

“Again, the Red Wings come up here as a possible landing spot, as they would very much like to try and shore up their top four,” writes Kypreos.

That fits the bill for the Red Wings are looking for. A right-shot defenseman? Check. A right-shot defenseman with term? Check? What makes it better is that Weegar has five years left on his deal and his annual salary ranks 50th among all defenseman.

There is one catch, as Weegar does carry a no-trade clause, so he’d have to accept a trade to the Red Wings if approached by the Flames front office.

Weegar was part of the blockbuster trade in 2022 where he, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Cole Schwindt were traded to the Flames by the Florida Panthers in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk. Since arriving in Calgary he has been relatively solid defensively. But this season, Weegar is having a rough go of things. On an average of 23:10 of ice time, Weegar has a plus/minus rating of -32. That is…not good. Granted, the Flames being one of the worst teams in the league doesn’t help matters. Still, the Flames allow an average of 2.98 goals per game, which ranks 13th in the NHL.

This is the first time that Weegar has been in the negative in plus/minus since the 2018-19 season, the only other time it’s happened in his career. This season, Weegar has three goals, 17 assists, 67 penalty minute, 129 blocked shots, 127 hits, and 19 takeaways in 56 games.

If the Red Wings do opt to pursue Weegar, they’d have to hope his numbers will improve in a much-better situation than on the Flames. The Red Wings need a second-pairing, right-side defenseman behind Moritz Seider, a legitimate candidate for the Norris Trophy this season. Currently, the Red Wings allow an average 2.97 goals per game, which ranks 12th in the NHL. Having more talent, especially on offense, should help Weegar increase his overall numbers in Detroit. The Red Wings have over a week to figure out which right-shot defenseman they want and then, try to finalize a trade.