By The Canadian Press

Flames trade defenceman MacKenzie Weegar to Mammoth for Maatta, prospect, picks

Mar 4, 2026 | 8:24 PM

CALGARY — The Calgary Flames moved a key piece of their blue line Wednesday, trading veteran defenceman MacKenzie Weegar to the Utah Mammoth two days before the NHL’s trade deadline.

In return, the Flames received defenceman Olli Maatta, forward prospect Jonathan Castagna and three second-round picks in the 2026 NHL draft. The selections originally belonged to the Mammoth, New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators.

Weegar needed to waive his no-trade clause to complete the transaction, announced hours after the Flames and Mammoth reportedly agreed to a deal pending his approval.

“Mackenzie’s been an unbelievable Calgary Flame, so with that part of it, it’s always tough,” Calgary general manager Craig Conroy said in an interview with a Flames in-house reporter. “But where we are in the standings and what we’re trying to do here, it felt like something that we had to do.

“It just sets us up even moving forward, with the draft capital that we’re getting back, with the young player and with a player like Olli Maatta. We kind of checked all the little boxes along the way.”

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Weegar, a 32-year-old from Ottawa, has three goals and 18 assists in 60 games this season.

The two-way blueliner led the Flames in ice time but held a minus-35 differential on a rebuilding Calgary (24-29-7) team set to miss the playoffs for a fourth straight year.

The deal is not a rental for the Mammoth (32-25-4), who currently hold a wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Weegar remains under contract through the 2030-31 season at a US$6.25-million salary cap hit.

“MacKenzie is a high-end defenceman with the type of leadership and work ethic that we want in a top-four blueliner,” Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong said in a statement. “Acquiring MacKenzie solidifies our back end as we continue to push towards the playoffs, and he will be a great addition to our team on and off the ice.”

Maatta, meanwhile, owns a $3.5-million salary for two years beyond this season. The 31-year-old Finn has one assist in 22 games, spending much of the campaign as a healthy scratch.

Castagna, a 20-year-old centre from Toronto, has 14 goals and 18 assists in 29 games this season at Cornell University. The then-Arizona Coyotes drafted him in the third round, 70th overall, at the 2023 draft.

“We’ve been to a lot of Cornell games this year and he was a guy that we really liked,” Conroy said. “Very competitive, good in the faceoff circle, and offensively he’s one of those players that can chip in goals.”

Weegar enjoyed a career year with the Flames in 2023-24, producing 20 goals and 52 points in 82 games. He joined the Flames alongside Jonathan Huberdeau in the July 2022 blockbuster trade that sent Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers.

Calgary also dealt longtime defenceman Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights in January and could continue to be a seller ahead of Friday’s deadline.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2026.

The Canadian Press