The Ottawa Senators’ search for a right-shot defenceman could include a familiar name.
The Senators have been scouring the market for a blueliner who can play in the club’s top four all season, and league executives told Postmedia on Tuesday that the club may have held talks with the Calgary Flames about MacKenzie Weegar.
An Ottawa native, the 32-year-old Weegar, who played junior hockey for the Central Canada Hockey League’s Nepean Raiders, is among several players who could be on the move as the Flames work on a rebuild.
Weegar has a full no-move clause, so he would have to approve a deal to the Senators. Drafted by the Florida Panthers in the seventh round of the 2013 National Hockey League draft, there is no reason to believe that Weegar would turn down a deal to Ottawa.
The belief is that the Senators are among several teams interested in Weegar because he fits what the club needs in its top four and brings cost certainty with a $6.25 million U.S. per-season deal that runs through the 2030-31 campaign.
Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, has been studying the National Hockey League’s trade market since last May, trying to find a defenceman who will fit into the club’s top four and a winger who can play in Ottawa’s top six up front.
Fell short on Andersson
The Senators kicked tires on Calgary defenceman Rasmus Andersson before he was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights earlier this month, but Andersson had no desire to sign a contract extension with Ottawa, and that quickly eliminated any possibility of him coming here.
The Ottawa Senators had shown some interest in Calgary’s Rasmus Andersson before he was moved to the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Senators shouldn’t get into a rental situation, especially with the possibility that they miss the playoffs. Entering play Tuesday, the Senators were eight points behind the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card position with only 30 games left to play in the season.
That’s why Weegar, who has three goals and 16 points in 53 games with Calgary this season, could be a good solution for Ottawa.
If the Senators do miss the playoffs, the belief is that they won’t be out of the playoffs for long if Staios makes the right moves to help them pave a path back to the playoffs.
A large part of the setback this season has been inconsistent goaltending, but top netminder Linus Ullmark is on the verge of a return. Veteran defenceman Nick Jensen has struggled since coming back from hip surgery, and there have been many nights when he’s in the top four.
But if you think of a top four that features Jake Sanderson, Artem Zub, Thomas Chabot and Weegar, that looks like a good mix on paper. Weegar has a strong two-way game. He was on the radar screen to play for Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
In 602 career NHL games, Weegar has scored 62 goals, 205 assists and 267 points.
Would Weegar be a good fit?
“It makes some sense for Ottawa,” a league executive said Tuesday. “The Senators were in on Andersson, and Weegar would be a fit. He brings some grit and some good leadership. He’s a good player who can help them. He’s competitive and he can play on the power play.
“He could be a good fit.”
Craig Conroy, the GM of the Flames, is studying all of his options with the trade deadline set for March 7. The decision to deal Andersson was a signal that the Flames are going through some level of a teardown with the club seven points out of the final Western Conference wild-card spot entering play Tuesday.
The expectation is that forwards Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman also could be on the move if the Flames can find a deal that fits their needs. There was some talk earlier in the season that the Senators may also have an interest in Coleman, who also has some term left on his contract.
Conroy was asked what might be next after dealing Andersson to Vegas.
“I don’t even want to speculate. We’re going to continue to work at it and see where this goes,” Conroy said on Jan. 18.
The issue is that the Senators will hardly be alone on Weegar if the Flames decide to ask him to waive his no-move clause.
The Boston Bruins reportedly thought they were close to a trade for Andersson, and the Detroit Red Wings pulled themselves out of the race because they wanted a blueliner with term.
We can’t begin to tell you what the asking price might be for a player such as Weegar from the Senators. The issue is that the Senators don’t have a lot of assets to give up in return, unless Staios is willing to take something off the roster.
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