The Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers orchestrated a sensational deal two years ago today.
It’s been two years to the day that the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers put together a blockbuster trade. While one team’s fan base looks at it fondly, the other can’t say the same. Calgary sent Matthew Tkachuk and a conditional fourth-rounder in the 2025 draft to Florida in exchange for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a 2025 first-round draft pick.
Two years later – and with their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history –the Panthers are widely seen as the clear winners of that trade. Huberdeau only recording 55 and 52 points in the first two seasons of an eight-year contract worth $10.5 million annually only helps that argument.
The Panthers have also gotten credit for being another NHL team that took big swings to land elite talent and win the Cup, just like the Vegas Golden Knights. Related: A Lesson to NHL GMs: Swing for the Fences, Win the Stanley Cup But don’t the Flames deserve a little bit of credit for making the most of an untenable situation? Sure, we can talk about the original sin of the situation – the UFA exit of star winger Johnny Gaudreau, followed by Tkachuk’s lack of interest in signing a long-term contract.
But who can fault them for also taking a big swing and salvaging something of value from the ordeal if Tkachuk wasn’t willing to stay with Calgary? Seen through the prism of the Panthers’ best interests, Florida clearly was a winner in that deal. But two things can be true, can’t they? Can’t the Flames also have benefited somewhat from their end of the trade? After all, they did add a top-tier blueliner in Weegar and a second first-rounder in next summer’s draft as they look to replenish their prospect pipeline. Even Schwindt has some potential as a depth forward or a call-up option.
Now, the lengthy contract for Huberdeau, in combination with Huberdeau’s drop-off in offensive production, casts a shadow over this trade, but you can’t deny then-Flames GM Brad Treliving did everything in his power to stockpile assets. Tkachuk was the best player in the trade, but Calgary now has leaders to build around or a chip to use in a subsequent move. Related: NHL Prospect Pool Overview 2024-25: Calgary Flames Find Their Building Blocks for Success For instance, Weegar has a full no-move clause in his contract for the next three of his four years left under contract. He told Sportsnet in April while it’s easy to ask for a trade, he’s no quitter and wants to be with the Flames for a long time.
He can be a leader for up-and-coming defensemen Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz, Jeremie Poirier and the current NHL group. That said, if the Flames’ rebuild takes longer than expected and they see an opportunity to use Weegar as a trade asset down the line, he would be one of the top blueliners available on the market, especially with a cap hit of $6.25 million. They would have to provide the 30-year-old with an earlier opportunity to win a Stanley Cup and a team he’d want to join in general, but the Flames should rest assured Weegar is a positive asset in whichever way they use him.
The first-rounder from the Panthers is lottery-protected, but a first-rounder is still a first-rounder, and Calgary’s draft and development team will have more kicks at the can to bring in young talent who will be part of the long-term solution in Calgary. On some basic level, it almost certainly stings Flames fans to see Tkachuk succeed with the Panthers. That’s a natural reaction to the situation that’s unfolded in the past two years. Even Huberdeau said it was hard to see his former teammates lift the Cup.
But you can’t say the Flames failed miserably in moving on from Tkachuk. They stepped up and tried their utmost to bring back high-quality assets. In a sense, their big swing wasn’t that much different than any other team’s swings, keeping in mind Huberdeau came off a 115-point season with the Flames acquired him, while Weegar had 44 points. As the organization builds the roster into something truly competitive, the components they landed in the Tkachuk trade will make Conroy’s job that much easier. Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or by visiting our forum.
