MacKenzie Weegar Already Feels at Home in Utah After First Season With Mammoth – The Hockey Writers – Utah Mammoth

It’s not easy to leave a city you thought you were going to live in forever, especially when you sign a long-term contract with that team. However, in sports, no one is safe. Not even a player with a no-movement clause.

Back in March, the Calgary Flames were gearing up for another trade deadline, with the goal of selling off anything they could to continue their rebuild, which had just started a couple of years earlier when general manager Craig Conroy took over the team. As one of the older players on the team, MacKenzie Weegar was expected to be on the trade block.

Back in 2022, the defenseman signed an eight-year contract with the team, complete with a no-trade clause for the first four seasons of the deal. Weegar built a life in Calgary. Since arriving in Alberta, he married his wife, acquired another dog, became an ambassador for Parachute for Pets (a Calgary non-profit organization helping vulnerable people and their pets stay together), won a gold medal with Team Canada at the World Championship, and made many unforgettable friendships and memories in his four seasons with the Flames.

All of that came crashing down after one practice.

Management told Weegar about a massive offer the Utah Mammoth had made for him. Because of his no-movement clause, the defenseman needed to approve the deal for the Flames to accept the trade.

Weegar and his wife, Maggie, took hours discussing the potential move. At the end of the day, there were a lot of pros for going to Utah. The two heard nothing but good things about the city and the organization. The Mammoth also had good ownership and a plan. A plan to compete for the Stanley Cup year after year. As a 32-year-old, Weegar is in the latter half of his career, and the opportunity to go after the dream every hockey player has was one he couldn’t pass up.

“The young core group that they have here, they’re all extended here for a long time; Utah’s not going anywhere for a long time,” Weegar said. “This group is going to be really good for a lot of years, and we’re always going to have an opportunity. I believe, and everybody in here believes in competing for a Stanley Cup every year.”

With that, Weegar was whisked away to the newest market in the NHL. In the next few weeks, he played critical games that ultimately led to the Mammoth clinching their first-ever playoff berth. He also played a key role in the team’s first-ever playoff series. However, the biggest thing was that Weegar found himself adjusting quickly to life in Salt Lake City to the point where he can comfortably call the city home.

Loving Life Again in Utah

Going from Calgary to Salt Lake City has to be one of the easiest transitions in the NHL. The two are very similar to each other. Both are cities surrounded by mountains, both have very friendly communities, and they’re not terribly far from each other. It helped Weegar adjust quickly to everyday life.

“It’s an easy transition,” Weegar said. “Both are mountain towns, and they’re not too far from each other. It’s just a little bit more up north, a little bit colder in Calgary. We’re enjoying the weather, and we’re in a good spot. My wife’s here now with our dogs, and we’re enjoying it. We love it.”

Weegar was traded to the Mammoth during one of their east coast trips. His final game with the Flames was in Calgary, so when the call was made, the defenseman didn’t fly to Salt Lake City; rather, he joined the team in Columbus. He made his Mammoth debut against the Blue Jackets, producing his first point in that game. In his third game with the team, he had his first fight. An eventful first couple of days on the job, one might say.

Fortunately, most of the Mammoth’s final games of the season were at home, leaving Weegar some time to explore his new city. He got to make his way up to ski towns like Park City that really made a lasting impression on him.

“It’s a great city,” Weegar said. “People are really nice, and you’ve got some great restaurants and stuff like Park City. We got up there a little bit. It’s a beautiful spot and a good place to take family and friends when they’re in town.”

Another great thing for Weegar is that his dogs have been loving their new home as well. Funny enough, his oldest dog Ziggy has gotten to live quite a luxurious life. The defenseman had him while he was playing with the Florida Panthers and, of course, took him to Calgary. So, he’s had a beach and mountain life. In Utah, it will be a very outdoorsy life for Ziggy, one that both him and Weegar’s other dog will enjoy.

“It’s a super outdoorsy city,” Weegar said. “There are dog parks everywhere. You go on hikes. The weather is great to take them out, which helps a lot. There’s a lot of other people with dogs here, so it’s super dog-friendly, and they’re having a blast here. At first they were confused where they were just trying to get used to a new home, but they’re enjoying it.”

It was a change in pace for Weegar as well. With the Flames, it was quite clear they weren’t going to make the playoffs. As a growing and rebuilding team, the goal was to finish out the season as strong as possible, but the postseason wasn’t even a thought.

Joining the Mammoth on the fly was an adjustment, especially while the team was in the middle of a playoff push. It’s an opportunity he was grateful to have, albeit an intense situation he was thrown into.

“When you got here, you can tell the mindset in teams is a lot different,” Weegar said. “You’re gearing up for playoffs, you want to get the first wild card, and it’s a lot more intense. I’m thankful for this opportunity. I’m thankful that Bill went out and did what he had to do to come and get me. At the end of the day, every player in this league wants to compete for the Stanley Cup. When I had to switch it into gear, it was easy, because this is what you want to play for, and this is what it’s all about.”

Weegar produced seven points in 19 games with the Mammoth. It was in the playoffs where he really shone. In his first postseason appearance since the 2021-22 season with the Panthers, Weegar produced five points in six games, including the Mammoth’s first-ever playoff goal on home ice. He was tied for the team lead in postseason points.

WEE got ourselves a goal!!

Weegar makes it 1-0, Utah! pic.twitter.com/P1O0932Zar

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 25, 2026

Going to the newest city in the NHL with a lot of unknowns wasn’t an easy choice for Weegar. He had no idea what to expect from a move to Utah. However, the run to the playoffs and the series against the Vegas Golden Knights really made him understand how passionate and supportive the fanbase is about their new team. 

It helped that the Mammoth fanbase is one that rapidly comes together to love their new players right off the bat. With Weegar, fans organized an event called “Wigs for Weegs” to help show their support for the newest player and welcome him to Utah. Coincidentally, during that homestretch, the defenseman scored his first goal with the Mammoth.

The crowd LOVED this one from Weegs! pic.twitter.com/frVaWG2mbl

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) March 27, 2026

“They’re super passionate,” Weegar said. “The ‘Wigs for Weegs’ was super awesome. It was fun. I scored my first goal here, and the crowd was going crazy. I got introduced for the starting lineup in my first game here, and it went super crazy. It’s absolutely awesome. I went out for dinner with my wife one night, and they recognized me. The city is really growing into a hockey town. We love it. We feel it.”

An Emotional Goodbye to Calgary

Unlike a lot of players who have to wait until they return to their former home arenas, Weegar returned to Calgary a little over a month after being traded. Going into it, he had no clue what to expect.

What Weegar returned to was a full-capacity crowd standing on their feet for their former defenseman and an emotional video tribute. It truly showed how much Calgary loved him. He was a guy who was expected to be the next captain and someone who was very supportive around the community and of the team. For one last thank you, the Flames fans gave Weegar one last unforgettable moment at the Saddledome.

“It was a great reception coming back there,” Weegar said. “It’s a really passionate fan base. If you wear your jersey with a lot of pride there, they’ll show it back to you. As a young kid, a seventh-round draft pick, you don’t really expect to bounce around and then come back to a city and get an ovation like that. It makes things really special. It shows how special our game is and how great the game is to our players. It was a really nice reception, and I’ll always remember that.”

Welcome back, Weegs 🥹 pic.twitter.com/NTis9lXUEx

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) April 13, 2026

While it was an emotional return, it was a quick one. The trip to Calgary was a short one as the Mammoth flew up after their game against the Carolina Hurricanes and flew back home shortly after the game against the Flames. 

With the Flames finishing up a road trip in Seattle the day before the game against the Mammoth, it created only a 15-minute window after the game where Weegar got to reunite with his former teammates. It was an unfortunate scenario, but one he hopes to rectify when he sees them this upcoming season.

“I’ll see them hopefully next year,” Weegar said. “We can get a dinner in and just get some laughs and talk about the days in Calgary together. That’s what you do as players. You always keep in touch, and you stay close because at the end of the day, that’s what you get in this game: the relationships that you have. You always want to keep close contact with everybody.”

It was a tight-knit group in that Flames locker room despite them missing the playoffs in all four of Weegar’s seasons with the team. Many players stated how much they would miss the defenseman after he was traded.

There was one player who wasn’t in Calgary in person to help say goodbye to Weegar. It was also the person who really made him emotional when he broke the trade news to him. Jonathan Huberdeau was in New York recovering from a season-ending surgery when Weegar called him, telling him for the first time in their careers they wouldn’t be teammates. That was when the defenseman first cried about departing the Flames organization.

Weegar and Huberdeau played on the Panthers with each other until they were both traded to the Flames in the Matthew Tkachuk deal. For four more seasons, they were teammates. They were great friends. They were brothers.

“The transition from Florida to Calgary, it wasn’t easy on both of us, because it came as a shock,” Weegar said. “To go through something like that with another teammate, you get closer. He just had a new kid in Calgary, so he’s a family man now. We’ve grown up a lot together. When you switch teams, and you leave a guy like that. It’s not easy, but he understands the decision that I made, and he gets it, but it was an emotional goodbye, for sure. I love my buddies. I love my friends. I’m loyal to everybody close to me. That was definitely the tough part of making decisions like this.”

Not only did the short trip limit Weegar’s time with his former teammates, but it also limited his time to say goodbye to his house in Calgary. He had enough time to throw his remaining clothes into a suitcase that was left behind before taking one last look at what he had at one point thought would be his home for the rest of his career.

“I had to Uber there quickly and get some more clothes from the house,” Weegar said. “It was weird being back at the house. I took a photo and said goodbye. That’s probably the last time I’ll go there before it sells. It was weird, but I’m glad I got some more clothes. My wardrobe is a little bit bigger here in Utah, and I can stop wearing the same clothes every day.”

While Weegar and Maggie returned to their home in Ottawa after the Mammoth’s first-round exit, it’s safe to say the pair have really become comfortable in Utah, to the point where it feels like home. That feeling is crucial for Weegar as he’s set to be a big part of the Mammoth’s blueline for the next five seasons.

It’s the feeling he had in Calgary. The feeling of a family environment and an organization that cared. A place he could see himself and his wife in for a long time. However, there’s one key difference, and it’s the biggest reason why he decided to waive his no-trade clause, something he didn’t have to ultimately do. That’s the opportunity to win, and with a young core surrounding him, he believes that there is a real chance to win a Stanley Cup in Utah.

“The most important thing was getting an opportunity to compete for the Stanley Cup every year,” Weegar said. “This group of players here, from Cools, Gunner, Kells, Schmaltz, Sergy, Johnny, who is a severely underrated defenseman. This group is capable of doing a lot of great things here. There were a lot of reasons to come here, but that is the biggest one for me.”

It’s been a wild past couple of months for Weegar. From starting the year off on a rebuilding Flames team to turning his life upside down and getting his first taste of playoff hockey since 2022 with the Mammoth. It could’ve been a very tough time for him leaving a place he loved so much. Instead, Weegar has had the time of his life with an organization that has done everything in their power to help the transition to Utah be easy.

“I’m enjoying it,” Weegar said. “I’ve been having a blast. I think the guys here and the organization have made the transition really easy for me.”

With his future secured in Salt Lake City, Weegar is excited for the next five seasons in what he believes is a growing hockey town on the cusp of doing something special. He’s excited to continue bonding with his new teammates and make more playoff runs. He’s excited to call Utah home for a very long time.