Calgary Flames acquire Troy Stecher and Nick Ritchie from the Arizona Coyotes for Connor Mackey and Brett Ritchie

The Calgary Flames have made a second swap of deadline day. Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the club has acquired defenceman Troy Stecher and forward Nick Ritchie from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for defenceman Connor Mackey and forward Brett Ritchie.

That’s right: brothers traded for each other. It’s definitely the first time in Flames history that they’ve traded brothers for each other, though Darryl Sutter did trade his own son back in the day.

Stecher, 28, is a right-shot blueliner with a $1.25 million cap hit who’s a pending unrestricted free agent. He was originally a college free agent signing by Vancouver. He was signed by Arizona as a free agent during this past off-season. He has seven points in 61 games this season for the Coyotes.

(Nick) Ritchie, 27, is a left shot forward with a $2.5 million cap hit who’s a pending unrestricted free agent. He’s Brett’s younger brother. He was a first-round pick by Anaheim in 2014. He was acquired by Arizona from the Leafs prior to last year’s trade deadline. He has 21 points in 58 games this season for the Coyotes.

Mackey, 26, is a left shot blueliner with a $912,500 cap hit who’s a pending Group 6 unrestricted free agent. He was signed by the Flames as a college free agent a few years back, but never really got a foothold in the NHL lineup with the big club after impressing in the AHL. He’s played just 10 NHL games this season with the Flames, scoring two goals and adding an assist, but otherwise was the team’s perpetual healthy scratch. He’ll get a chance to play regularly in Arizona, which is for the best for his future.

(Brett) Ritchie, 29, is a right shot forward with a $750,000 cap hit who’s a pending unrestricted free agent. He’s Nick’s older brother. He was a second-round pick by Dallas in 2011. He was added by the Flames as a free agent in 2020 after attending camp on a pro try-out. He had eight points in 36 games with the Flames this season. He’ll give Arizona some inexpensive veteran depth.

It’s a net cap hit gain for the Flames of just $2,087,500 for the remainder of the season.

Join us on March 3rd for the Daily Faceoff Live: Trade Deadline edition as Frank Seravalli and the panel break down all of the latest rumours, news, and rumblings from around the NHL. The show will be live on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter from 10 AM – 2 PM MT to keep you up to date on all things trade deadline no matter where you’re watching from.