Three stars in Calgary up for grabs, and at least 2 make sense for the Maple Leafs
With the Flames rebuilding, several key members are reportedly available for trade including Nazem Kadri and MacKenzie Weegar, both of whom make sense for the Maple Leafs.
After failing to qualify for the post-season in 2022-23, the Flames decided to embark on a rebuild with general manager Craig Conroy steering the ship in 2023-24. They moved on from several key pieces like Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Christ Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov ahead of the trade deadline and continued swiftly into the off-season when they moved Jakob Markstrom to New Jersey.
According to an Instagram post from "The Mug NHL", it is being reported by David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period that Kadri, Weegar, and even Johnathan Huberdeau are all open to trade discussions.
A reunion between Kadri and the Toronto Maple Leafs would make quite a bit of sense, especially with the club looking for a top-9 center. Kadri also brings a lot of intangibles that the Leafs not only lack with the departure of Tyler Bertuzzi, but covet. Despite the Flames' lowly ways last year, Kadri still managed to put up 29 goals and 75 points in 82 games and is just 2 years removed from his career-high 87 point season with the Colorado Avalanche.
Weegar would also help solidify the Maple Leafs' back-end and give them a top-4 defenseman they desperately need. Weegar put up 20 goals and 52 points last year in 82 games and has tallied 38 goals and 163 points over his last 4 seasons all while averaging 22:24 TOI and blocking 556 shots to go along with 677 hits. He'd be a difference-maker in Toronto.
The asking price for both players is currently unknown, but with the Flames rebuilding, they would most assuredly want top picks and prospects for either one.
The Maple Leafs don't have a first rounder in 2025 nor do they have a second rounder in 2026 so they would need to get creative and potentially add a budding prospect to sweeten the deal. However, due to cap constraints, they would also need the Flames to take some money back or retain a large chunk of salary with Kadri's cap hit at $7 million per season and Weegar sitting at a $6.25 million AAV.
Source for Nazem Kadri's statistics: Hockey ReferenceNazem Kadri
Source for MacKenzie Weegar's statistics: Hockey ReferenceMacKenzie Weegar
Source for Maple Leafs draft picks: Puck PediaToronto Maple Leafs
| POLL | ||
2 SEPTEMBRE | 251 ANSWERS Three stars in Calgary up for grabs, and at least 2 make sense for the Maple Leafs Which player should the Leafs' next target? | ||
| Nazem Kadri | 82 | 32.7 % |
| MacKenzie Weegar | 54 | 21.5 % |
| Both | 48 | 19.1 % |
| Neither | 67 | 26.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
