In the heat of the Calgary Flames fighting for their playoff lives, MacKenzie Weegar elevating his game has probably flown under the radar.
That’s inevitable. The focus of the Flames, their fans and the Calgary media is on whether or not the team can somehow find a way to close the gap between themselves and the team that is sitting in the Western Conference’s second wildcard position, the Winnipeg Jets.
Individual performance is secondary at this time of the year.
But Weegar’s rise over the past couple of months merits some attention.
“He’s been really good for us since the (all-star) break,” Flames head coach Darryl Sutter said on Saturday morning. “He’s been really good for us. He’s a really good competitor and he’s really stepped his identity and his profile up. He’s done a really good job.”
Had the Flames managed to pull out a win on Saturday night against the Dallas Stars, Weegar’s play probably would have been the talk of the town in Calgary. Instead, the fact that he scored a goal and added two assists is being overshadowed by the Flames losing 6-5 in overtime — again — and dropping a point in the playoff race.
But Weegar was excellent on Saturday. It was his latest strong showing for a Flames team that needs its best players stepping up.
It wasn’t just that the 29-year-old contributed on three Flames goals, his defensive play was solid, too. He wasn’t on the ice for any of the Stars’ six goals and his partnership with Rasmus Andersson continued to look like something the Flames can really build around.
“He’s been really good,” Andersson said. “I think one of his best skill sets is just breaking the puck out, he’s always kind of finding the middle and making the right play in the d-zone. He plays physical and likes to jump in the play, too; he’s been really good lately and that’s what we need, we need everyone to be really good.”
Weegar himself was understandably not interested in talking about his own performance after Saturday night’s loss. The Flames know how much they need two points from every game coming down the stretch, and the overtime defeat stung.
But that doesn’t make it any less notable that he’s upped his game. After scoring only once in his first 67 games with the Flames after he was acquired in the trade that sent Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers, Weegar has now scored in two straight for the Flames. He’s also had three multi-point games in the Flames’ last seven.
Combined with some solid defence, Weegar really is beginning to look like the player many Flames fans hoped the team was acquiring when GM Brad Treliving made his blockbuster deal last summer.
“Maybe just some comfortability and confidence,” Weegar said when he was asked about what’s allowed him to elevate his game after Saturday’s loss. “Ras, the whole team, we’ve been playing in a good stretch here, it’s just coming down to that one play. It’s tough to talk about my own play after a loss or after a win, it comes down to everybody in this room. I want to win just as bad as any other guy in the room.”
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It would be tempting to suggest that the improvements in Weegar’s game have come as a result of the decision to pair him with Andersson. Weegar had been playing mostly with Chris Tanev prior to the Flames’ Feb. 28 game against the Boston Bruins.
As Sutter pointed out, Weegar was playing at a higher level well before that and had shown another gear since the all-star break, which was several weeks before the Flames switched up their defensive partnerships.
The partnership with Andersson does seem to be bringing out the best in both players, though.
“I obviously played with (Noah Hanifin),” for a long time,” Andersson said. “But the four of us, I think we can play wherever and playing with Weegsy has been easy. He’s so good at breaking the puck out so he gives me more opportunities to join the rush.”
The admiration goes both ways, and the Flames are benefiting from it.
“Ras is a great guy, he’s fun to play with,” Weegar told FlamesTV on Saturday. “He’s got a lot of offensive upside, he moves the puck well, I think he makes my life a lot easier. Smart player, does everything really smart out there. To play with him is great, I think he’s improved my game, he’s helped me a lot.”
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