Flames, Coyotes trade the Ritchie brothers in a rare deal

In a rare brother-for-brother trade, the Calgary Flames acquired Nick Ritchie and Connor Mackey from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Brett Ritchie and Troy Stecher at Friday’s NHL close.

Stecher is the best player in this deal, giving the Flames some much-needed depth on the blue line. The 28-year-old has provided seven assists in 61 games this season. Stecher will certainly benefit from a change of scenery as the dying Coyotes controlled just 41 percent of expected goals in 5-on-5 when he was on the ice, and he will likely fit in the Flames’ third pair.

Nick Ritchie – the younger of the two brothers – has scored nine goals and 21 points in 58 games this season. He was acquired from the Maple Leafs by the Coyotes last year, but he just hasn’t made an impact, even when he’s had significant minutes in the NHL. Ritchie will likely move into the fourth row and will be excited to see how the Flames allocate his minutes – his underlying numbers were terrible and he’s one of the slowest skaters in the league.

Brett Ritchie has six goals and eight points in 34 games for the Flames. The 29-year-old has posted decent underlying numbers – Calgary controlled just over 50 per cent of expected goals in 5-on-5 when Ritchie was on the ice in admittedly protected minutes. Arizona has taken a lot of dead cap space and is getting a functioning NHL player who may get one more chance to show why he needs more minutes. He’s not as bad defensively as his brother Nick, but he doesn’t have the secondary scoring punch either.

Mackey had two goals and three points in 10 games in 2022-23. He has not played since Jan. 26 and has struggled to gain significant minutes in the NHL. Now playing on a Coyotes team just waiting for the drawing lottery to be played, Mackey gets a chance to show why he can be a capable, consistent defender in the NHL and not just be a part of Arizona’s tank job.