Two years ago, the Calgary Flames traded Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers for MacKenzie Weegar, Jonathan Huberdeau, and others

You know the story, Tkachuk scored 40 goals and 109 points in 79 regular season games in 2022-23, along with 11 goals and 24 points in 20 postseason games en route to the Stanley Cup Finals. His production decreased in 2023-24, scoring 26 goals and 88 points, along with six goals and 22 points in 24 postseason games, but he helped the Panthers win their first cup in franchise history.

Huberdeau was the big piece coming back in the trade, as he scored 30-goals and 115 points in 80 games with the Panthers in 2021-22, shattering a career-high in points and matching his career-high in goals. However, he hasn’t found the same success with the Flames, scoring just 27 goals and 107 points in 160 games the past two seasons.

Weegar has been the best piece for the Flames in that trade, though. The right-shot defenceman scored a career-high 20 goals and 52 points in 82 games, with the 20 goals being tied for third in scoring for defencemen. He quickly became the team’s top pairing defenceman and signed a eight-year, $50 million deal with an annual cap hit of $6.25 million upon arriving in Calgary.

Schwindt, a prospect at the time of the trade, was selected in the third-round of the 2019 draft and made his debut with the Panthers in 2021-22, playing three games and posting a minus-4 plus/minus. The right-winger spent the entirety of the 2022-23 season in the American Hockey League, scoring 14 goals and 32 points in 70 games. The 23-year-old appeared in four games with the Flames this past season, but mainly played with the Wranglers where he scored 14 goals and 36 points.

As for the 2025 first-round pick, it’s very odd and convoluted. Basically, the Panthers’ pick will more than likely head to the Montréal Canadiens unless the Flames finish outside of the top 10 in the 2025 draft order. If the Flames pick 11th or later, the earlier pick (of their own and Florida’s) will head to the Canadiens. The conditions for this pick are crazy.

All in all, the Flames were forced into a box with Tkachuk telling the team he wouldn’t sign long-term, and they managed to get a top pairing defenceman and a player with a track record (despite his struggles), out of it. It’s not ideal, but the Flames did alright.