Ekblad-Weegar blueline chemistry untouchable to the end

One of the NHL’s best defence pairings ended this summer when the Florida Panthers dealt MacKenzie Weegar to the Calgary Flames.

On July 22, the Flames and Panthers connected on one of the biggest trades in the salary cap era, with Calgary sending gritty power forward Matthew Tkachuk to Florida in exchange for Weegar, winger Jonathan Huberdeau, prospect Cole Schwindt, and a conditional first-round pick in 2025.

Two weeks later, Calgary general manager Brad Treliving flew to Montreal to meet his new star winger for steak and baked halibut at Bar George in the city’s Golden Square Mile, an evening now referred to by Flames fans as “The Dinner” given that Huberdeau, a native of Saint-Jerome, Que., signed an eight-year, $84 million contract days later.

Prior to that dinner in Montreal, there was a ‘last supper’ held in Miami Beach – the wedding of Panthers blueliner Aaron Ekblad. 

Huberdeau, Weegar, and several of their now-ex Florida teammates toasted the Ekblads and the end of an era for the franchise. Huberdeau, chosen third overall by the Panthers in 2011, owns several all-time team records, including games played (671) and points (613).

Ottawa native Weegar was a late-round pick in 2013 and blossomed into one of the league’s most underrated defencemen, while Ekblad of Windsor, Ont., has been a Panthers franchise pillar since being chosen first overall a year later. They had spent close to a decade together in Florida, but their time together, at least on the ice, came to an end that July day.

“There was just a lot of big hugs back and forth and talks about when we come to Calgary, we’re going to have dinner; when you guys come to Florida, we’re going to hang out,” the 26-year-old Ekblad said.

“Just talks about not letting our friendship drift away. I think we’ll have no problem doing that.”

Ekblad and the 28-year-old Weegar combined to form one of the National Hockey League’s best duos last season. At five-on-five, they were 11th among all defence pairs* in controlling 56.24 per cent of shots and 13th in goals-for percentage (61.54). The past two seasons Weegar is plus-69, second among all NHL defencemen, and his 80 points rank 15th.

“As a right-handed defenceman playing the left side, it’s not easy,” Ekblad said. “He kind of mastered that. That’s extremely impressive…we just had a telepathic sense of what we were going to do. It was almost a look. You get that with a defence partner when you’ve played together for a decent amount of time, you get that look in your eye and I know what he wants me to do and I know what he wants me to do.”

On or off the ice, part of a great partnership is brutal honesty with the goal of improvement. 

“We weren’t afraid to get back to the bench and have a big f--- you [shouting] match as well,” Ekblad said.

“We were always friends no matter what, but we were accountable and wanted the best for each other and that was what made us good.”

Ekblad and Weegar would often skate together before other Panthers hit the ice, working on the details of the game.

“I don’t know if he liked it, but I would always drag him on the ice early and just pass a hundred pucks to each other,” Ekblad said.

“I would skate us around the ice and we would throw pucks into each others’ feet and have to pick them up, rip hard passes at each other into the hands and you have to pick it up and put it on your stick.”

As for Huberdeau, Ekblad simply said that his former teammate is a “damn good hockey player.” 

The blockbuster deal marks the beginning of new eras for two franchises looking to cement themselves as perennial playoff contenders. Despite the many reasons for optimism for both the Flames and Panthers heading into the 2022-23 season, there is a human element to a trade when two good friends must part ways.

“I’m going to miss those guys like crazy,” Ekblad said.

“Weegs’ dog and my dog are brothers from another mother. Actually, I think they’re brothers from the same mother. We’re close. It absolutely broke my heart when they got traded…when we’re together, it’s just laughs. It’s good, honest conversation, it’s just natural.”