Most eyes will be on signings in free agency starting Wednesday morning. That doesn’t mean trades won’t take place. In fact, for teams that strike out on free agents or pull themselves out of the bidding wars that inevitably happen for the league’s top free agents, trades become a more attractive alternative. As such, players like Mackenzie Weegar become a target and in a summer where there aren’t a lot of great blue line options available, he could be a popular name that gets talked about.
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period writes, “On the Mackenzie Weegar trade chatter: With a contract extension for Jonathan Huberdeau in the works, teams have reached out to FLA about Weegar, who has 1-year left on his deal.” He adds, “Weegar is aware of the noise and understands a trade is possible. Something to watch.”
Teams like the Ottawa Senators, who are rumored to be looking for a defenseman, are linked to these trade discussions, but it’s not clear if anything has come of those rumors. Elliotte Friedman said, “In a perfect world Florida would like to keep Weegar. The question is, can they? Ottawa has interest in Weegar and it makes a lot of sense.” He added in a recent Sportsnet article:
No one thinks Ottawa is finished. In fact, we’re all waiting for another move now that Matt Murray is a Maple Leaf. One potential target: Florida’s MacKenzie Weegar. … Florida’s been asked about him, and the Senators are able to do the kind of sparkly picks and prospects package to get it done. This, of course, would allow the Panthers flexibility to do some other things. (Florida and Ottawa are also believed to be competing for Claude Giroux, with Carolina among those peering over their shoulders.)
They won’t be the only team that shows interest if the Panthers are actually making him available. He’s a 20-plus minutes per night defenseman who often plays more than 25 minutes. He posted 44 points in 80 regular-season games for the Panthers and added one assist in 10 playoff games.
The fact that he makes only $3.25 million and is locked in for one more season means he’ll be an attractive addition for a team that either sees him as the perfect rental (high cost to acquire that rental now) or believes they have the cap space to sign him to an extension (hence why the Senators are linked here).
Whether it be trade or free agency, in terms of a right-side defensive defenseman who can punch in offensively, play a physical style, moves well and can handle the puck, Weegar may be the best player available, full stop.
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