Flames Stanley Cup odds improve after Huberdeau, Weegar additions

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Turns out swapping Matthew Tkachuk for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar is already a win off the ice for Calgary Flames fans.

The Flames’ odds to win the Stanley Cup in 2023 improved sharply after the dramatic swap last Friday night, moving Calgary from +2100 to win the league before the trade to +1600 after the announcement, according to FanDuel.

It was the biggest overnight swing following the trade, and moves the Flames into the sixth-best odds to hoist the cup alongside Pacific Division and Alberta foe, the Edmonton Oilers.

@JonnyHuby11 looking good his in new gear 🔥 #CalgaryFlames #NHL #hockey pic.twitter.com/OvSNN8OlIg

— LSHL (@theLSHL) July 27, 2022

Calgary wasn’t the only one to receive a bump from the trade, either.

The Panthers also saw their Cup odds shorten from +1300 to +1100 after the acquisition of Tkachuk. Only the Colorado Avalanche (+450), Carolina Hurricanes (+1000), and Toronto Maple Leafs (+1000) have shorter odds.

The Flames are holding high after an offseason of turnover.

Calgary lost Johnny Gaudreau to the Columbus Blue Jackets in unrestricted free agency on July 13, and a week later were informed that Tkachuk wouldn’t be signing a long-term contract with the club.

It prompted the surprising swap with Florida, which saw the NHL’s first true sign-and-trade.

The Flames inked Tkachuk to an eight-year deal worth an average annual value of $9.5 million per season, and immediately flipped him to the Panthers in exchange for Huberdeau, Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt, and a conditional first round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

Tkachuk, 24, was coming off an NHL career-high 104 points (42 goals, 62 assists).

Huberdeau, an unrestricted free agent next summer, also finished with a career-high 115 points (30 goals, 85 assists) — tied for the second-highest in the NHL in 2021-22 alongside Gaudreau. Weeger, a right-shot defenceman who is also a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, also netted an NHL career-high 44 points (eight goals, 36 assists) in 80 games.

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