Welcome back to another edition of NHL Rumours. Although the offseason is well underway, there are still plenty of rumours to go around. Today, we look at how the Calgary Flames trade acquisitions are both open to re-signing. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reports that both Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar stated they were open to re-signing in Calgary.
Jonathan Huberdeau:
“I’m open to signing in Calgary long term.”
MacKenzie Weegar:
“Same here.”— Eric Francis (@EricFrancis) July 25, 2022
Calgary Flames Trade Acquisitions Could Stay
Since the trade broke on Friday, there has been a ton of analysis and speculation about what the future holds for the Calgary Flames. Losing two players who had 100 points in Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk is tough. However, Huberdeau and Weegar are two great players themselves. It will be interesting to see how Calgary approaches this and if they look to re-sign one or both players long-term.
The upside is obvious for their current situation. The team will be better right now. This season, with both players playing at their best, there would be a good argument they could win the Pacific Division once again. However, the future is what the Flames will need to question. Both Huberdeau and Weegar will demand massive raises this coming summer. At 30 and 29 years old, it will be a gamble of how long those stay worth it. Additionally, while the two make a combined $9.1 million now, can the Flames still win if that number almost doubles? Becoming a UFA next summer, it seems likely Huberdeau will be asking the same range Gaudreau did this year. Somewhere in the $8-10.5 million range. Weegar is also due for a hefty extension from his current $3.25 million. It doesn’t seem unreasonable he would come in at $6 million or so.
So, the question Calgary will need to ask is can they still win long-term with these two making close to $15-18 million? If the answer is no, it may not matter what the players want.
Going Forward
It will be a fascinating situation to watch this season. No doubt the Flames will want to keep their new players for as long as possible. And it’s a good first step they’ve stated publically they want to re-sign or would re-sign. However, the situation still needs to be right for both sides. And at this point, it’s not totally clear that it will or won’t be.
Jonathan Huberdeau (@JonnyHuby11) had a special night en route to eclipsing 40 points this season.
4-point game ✔️
400th point ✔️
500th game ✔️ pic.twitter.com/BdiwBbschN— NHL (@NHL) December 17, 2019
