The Calgary Flames were on the road for 14 days, and they returned home on Sunday to face a familiar face, as MacKenzie Weegar and the Utah Mammoth visited the Saddledome.

It was Weegar’s first game in Calgary since being traded to Utah prior to the trade deadline. Weegar received a healthy ovation from the Saddledome crowd, but his return to town was spoiled as the Flames beat the Mammoth by a 4-1 score.

The Flames made three pretty significant trades this winter, moving Rasmus Andersson to Vegas on Jan. 18, MacKenzie Weegar to Utah on Mar. 4 and Nazem Kadri to Colorado on Mar. 6. Over the recent road trip, the Flames had their first meetings with both Kadri and Andersson since the trade. Kadri and the Avalanche beat the Flames by a 9-2 score, while Andersson and the Golden Knights beat the Flames by a 6-3 score.

But the Flames bucked the trend on Sunday evening. Weegar played 21:33 and earned an assist on Lawson Crouse’s lone goal for the Mammoth, but the Flames generally did their level best to prevent Weegar from running roughshod in his return to the Saddledome.

The Flames were without Yan Kuznetsov after he suffered an injury against Seattle on Tuesday night.

In Kuznetsov’s absence, the Flames leaned pretty heavily on a primary quartet: Zayne Parekh (23:49), Olli Maatta (23:08), Zach Whitecloud (22:41) and Hunter Brzustewicz (20:08). Parekh led the team in ice time, had an assist on Connor Zary’s goal (which stood as the game-winner) and was tied with Morgan Frost for the team lead in shots with 4.

Flames head coach Ryan Huska acknowledged Parekh’s progression post-game.

“You know, when you look at his game, tonight to me was by far his best game that he’s played in a lot of different ways, not just with the puck, but without the puck,” said Huska. “And I think he’s steadily getting better. So if you want to talk progression, yeah, his game’s coming along, and I think he’s feeling much better about where he’s at right now, and he deserves to be. He’s done a good job.”

One player that took advantage of Kuznetsov’s absence was Brayden Pachal. A healthy scratch more often than not this season – through 80 games, he’s played 37 and watched 43 – he’s had a challenging role, playing a physical defensive game but being in and out the lineup frequently. He played 14:15, but logged three points – a goal and two assists – for the first time in his NHL career.

“We’ve been using him wrong all year,” joked Huska. “You’re really happy for him. It’s not an easy thing to ask of a player. It’s not an easy thing for a player to do, to be in and out the way he has been. But much like other guys who have been in that situation before, there hasn’t been a day where he’s come in and had an attitude that you have to say, hey, you can be better than that. He’s been outstanding. So when you see a guy like that have success the way he did tonight, you’re really happy for him.”

Finally, rookie blueliner Abram Wiebe completed a pretty wild few days. His college team at North Dakota was eliminated from the NCAA national tournament on Thursday, he signed his entry-level deal with the Flames on Friday, he debuted with the Flames in Seattle on Saturday and played his first home game on Sunday. He logged 7:12 against Utah in his second NHL game in two days.

“I think the first game we put in a tough spot,” said Huska. “I mean, he didn’t even have a chance to practice with us. Never wore his gear before, and I thought he handled himself fine. I thought tonight he actually made some good plays with the puck. He did some good things when he was on the ice. So I think every game he’s going to play from here on out, he’s going to get better and better.”

The Flames play their second-to-last game of the 2025-26 season on Tuesday night when they host Colorado.