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"F*cking rights": Flames' Weegar shares hilarious story of Klapka's first NHL goal

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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Apr 19 2024, 5:39 am
"F*cking rights": Flames' Weegar shares hilarious story of Klapka's first NHL goal
Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports

Calgary Flames forward Adam Klapka scored his first NHL goal tonight in a 5-1 win over the San Jose Sharks, and seems to have had quite the reaction immediately afterward.

Klapka beat Sharks goaltender Devin Cooley blocker side on a great shot from distance, putting it right under the bar. He quickly turned and hugged MacKenzie Weegar, who, following the game, shared a hilarious story about what the 6-foot-8 forward said to him.

“I think the most special part was the big mutant Klapka getting that goal and giving me a big hug,” Weegar said. “He’s looking down at me saying, ‘I scored in the NHL’, and he’s spitting on my face, and I’m just like, ‘f*cking rights!’ It’s little things like that that are special. You don’t forget those.”

It’s been quite the journey for Klapka, who signed with the Flames ahead of the 2022-23 season as an undrafted free agent. He has spent most of his time in the organization with the Calgary Wranglers, but has been able to suit up for the first five games of his NHL career this season.

The 24-year-old may not have been spitting in anyone’s faces postgame, but he still had a big smile speaking about his goal.

“It’s amazing. Especially here in the Saddledome in Calgary,” Klapka said. “It’s amazing, and I’ll never forget about it.”

His goal wasn’t the only time his name was scribbled on the game sheet, as he also dropped the mitts with Givani Smith early in the second period. Unfortunately, he was unable to pick up an assist, coming up just short of a Gordie Howe hat trick.

“It was close. All the guys were reminding me,” said Klapka. “I didn’t really focus on it, I just wanted to try to get [Dustin Wolf] the shutout and help the team to win.”

Wolf came oh-so-close to his first NHL shutout, with Sharks forward Fabian Zetterlund finding the back of the net with just 8.9 seconds remaining. As disappointing as that was, this one had far more positives.

Blake Coleman was able to hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career, while MacKenzie Weegar scored 20 for the first time. By doing so, he became the first defenceman in NHL history to score 20 goals while also having over 200 blocked shots.

“It speaks to how important he is to our team,” Coleman said on Weegar. “It was an ugly knuckler, but it’s how he plays. He gets the job done.”

Overall, the 2023-24 season was disappointing for the Flames. They finished with a 38-39-5 record, which had them 17 points shy of a playoff spot. That said, there are plenty of things going right for this team, perhaps none more so than how tight-knit of a group they are. That was very apparent in their win tonight to close out the season.

“The game mattered to them, and it wasn’t just to help guys get milestones,” said head coach Ryan Huska. “I think they wanted to leave each other with a good last impression, and to me they did that tonight.”

With the 2023-24 season now wrapped up, the next thing on the Flames’ agenda is the draft, which will take place in late June. With the two points from tonight’s win, the Flames have a 64.4% chance of selecting ninth overall, where many fans are praying that they select Tij Iginla.

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