couldnt afford 2nd t
Joined: Sep. 2021
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I think they end up moving Weegar to Ottawa later this week for something like a protected 2023 1st Round Pick, Alex Formenton, and Nikita Zaitsev. Ottawa still needs a top 4D. Moving Zaitsev's money is likely a bottleneck. If Calgary plans on flipping Weegar, they likely have an idea from Florida about what Ottawa was willing to do. Calgary can take Zaitsev, Florida could not. That likely changes the dynamic of a Weegar to Ottawa trade and might put it back on the table.
I doubt Huberdeau re-signs there. Offers usually are not strong in these kind of situations. They will get another 1st and a prospect for Huberdeau, probably at the trade deadline.
If they end up accumulating three first round picks and a couple of lesser picks and prospects, that is a good return given that teams almost never get anything good selling off UFAs who are selective abotu where they will sign, and do not want to stay. If they by some chance end up extending Huberdeau, then the trade is a blessing for Flames fans, who otherwise are looking at a bunch of futures with no reasonable chance of panning out as stars.
I would guess that this trade isn't an indication that Huberdeau wouldn't re-sign with the Panthers. They probably felt that Tkachuk was too important and unique to pass up on. They cannot afford both Huberdeau and Tkachuk anyways, so he had to be in the deal. I wonder if we hear over the next few days that being traded away caught Huberdeau by surprise. Maybe both sides even talked about what an extension would look like, and he thought they were progressing.