"This is just crazy": Weegar extension culminates emotional road to NHL
Jonathan Huberdeau led the NHL in assists last weekend, so it’s no surprise he had a helping hand in getting MacKenzie Weegar signed to a long-term extension with the Calgary Flames on Friday.
Huberdeau might’ve nudged the deal in the right direction.Ā
“He kept giving me maybe an elbow or two in the gut saying, ‘When are you going to do it?'” said Weegar, who could have become an unrestricted free agent after the season. “I kept saying the same thing to him as you guys, ‘Hopefully soon.’ Now maybe I can get a house next to him or something like that.”
"Let's go. I'm ready. This is going to be fun."
MacKenzie Weegar speaks with the media after signing an eight-year extension. pic.twitter.com/yt1g9XWbP1
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) October 7, 2022
Weegar joined the Flames after a summer blockbuster with the Florida Panthers that saw him, Huberdeau, Cole Schwindt, and a conditional first-round pick in exchange for forward Matthew Tkachuk.
He logged a lot of miles getting to his new home in Calgary.Ā
No comparison, though, to his trip to the NHL.Ā
Weegar’s journey has taken him through the Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League (EOJHL), Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) before he was selected in the seventh round (No. 206) in the 2013 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers.Ā
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Mix in a tour with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL, and stops with the San Antonio Rampage, Portland Pirates, and Springfield Thunderbirds in the American Hockey League (AHL), and Weegar’s logged many miles.Ā
“It means everything,” Weegar said. “When I signed the deal I just kept thinking of how long of a road it’s been for me since Junior B to the Coast and now to here. All my friends and family and all the support I think, it’s not just me that signed the deal. It’s everybody around me.
“It never really came to me. Just a kid in Ottawa wanting to play hockey. Just tried to work hard. I’m thankful for all the great teammates I’ve had in Florida and here. I wouldn’t be where I am now without those guys. I’m really happy.”
Weegar marks the third player to ink long-term deals to stay in Calgary following the turmoil surrounding Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau earlier this summer.Ā
Huberdeau also signed an eight-year deal and centre Nazem Kadri inked a seven-year pact as an unrestricted free agent. Andrew Mangiapane, a restricted free agent this summer, also signed a three-year deal in early August.
Weegar’s, though, might’ve been the most emotional.
“Everybody has just been so supportive of me,” he said. “When times were tough everybody brought me up. I really have no words. It’s going to sink in a little later, I think. It’ll be emotional later. I’ll call my mom and my dad. This is just crazy. I couldn’t be more thankful.”