Last week, Calgary Flames head coach Ryan Huska confirmed that the team would name a new captain “sooner than later.” Now, one of Calgary’s key players seems to have thrown his hat into the ring.
As the latest guest on the Sportsnet show Flames Talk, defenceman Mackenzie Weegar discussed his interest in the vacant “C.”
And despite arriving to Calgary a little over a year ago via the blockbuster trade that sent Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers, the Ottawa native said he would accept the role without hesitation.
“If they did choose me, I would love to be the captain of the Calgary Flames,” the 29-year-old said. “There’d be a lot of work. I think I’m ready for it.”
After missing the 2023 playoffs by a razor-thin margin, the Flames finished last season on a disappointing note. As a result, front-office changes, including hiring Huska as head coach and Craig Conroy as general manager, were made during the offseason.
Weegar, who netted 31 points last season, believes the new administration will bring a much-needed “breath of fresh air” to the organization.
“I think everybody was pretty disappointed, obviously, with last year, but you know, to get two new guys to take over as GM and coach gives a lot of guys a breath of fresh air,” Weegar said. “I know it’s been talked about a lot (…), but I think a lot of guys are itching to get back and to prove to everybody what kind of player they are and what kind of team we are.”
“We want to push for that Stanley Cup.”
As for what it’ll take to succeed with the current roster, Weegar, a seventh-round draft pick in 2013, says he believes there is enough talent and depth in Calgary’s dressing room to contend.
“We’ve got all the pieces,” Weegar said in a recent interview with Aaron Vickers of NHL.com. “It comes from the GM, to the coach, to all the players. You look at our goaltending, and then you look at all seven ‘D’…we’ve got a great ‘D’-core, and our top-six, even our top-12 (forwards) (…) We have so much talent and so many good players.”
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