Zayne Parekh has Flames fans invoking prime Cale Makar tonight, with Tate McRae in the crowd at the Saddledome.
The Flames beat the Flyers 4-3 in overtime tonight, and the 20-year-old defenseman is the one getting the social media treatment. Calgary plays the Rangers next on Wednesday, November 11.
Parekh was the ninth overall pick of the Flames in 2024. He has 17 points in 55 career games, and his 2026-27 season has had plenty of offensive flashes, including one game-winning goal.
Makar is a fitting name for the comparison, and not only because of the offensive game. He was born in Calgary, and he had a monster night of his own on Saturday against the Red Wings, with a goal and two assists in a 4-0 Avalanche win.
True Zeke posted on X that he remembers the moment Parekh saw McRae sitting in the stands and turned into prime Makar.
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That is a fan's joke, and it works as one. Nothing in that post tells us exactly what Parekh did on the ice, so the punchline is doing the heavy lifting.
Is Parekh really playing like Makar?
Not yet, and the numbers are blunt about it. Makar has 21 points in 17 games this season. Parekh has 7 in 17, with 14 penalty minutes and a -10 rating.
That -10 is the part Calgary has to clean up. The Flames sit at 8-9-1 with a -17 goal differential, and a young puck-mover who gets caught on the wrong side of the play adds to that.
But the tools that make fans reach for the Makar name are real. A 20-year-old defenseman with 4 power-play assists already has the confidence to try things, and the Flames would rather rein that in than coach it into him.
Calgary has won its last game and sits 6-3-1 over its last 10. Parekh gets another look, and another crowd, against New York on Wednesday.
Quick hits
ANAHEIM DUCKS: Greg Beacham reports the Ducks are the first team to score at least 5 goals in 8 straight games since the 1988-89 Los Angeles Kings. That is a long wait for a record like this.
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PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: Cutter Gauthier scored another hat trick tonight, and the Penguins lost 5-2 to the Ducks in Anaheim on Sunday night. Pittsburgh had no answer for him.
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TRADE BUZZ: Rob Reinhart reports that Devils goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has requested a trade, per sources. The team has not confirmed it.
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WASHINGTON CAPITALS: Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said Hellebuyck is expected to play both games against the Capitals when New Jersey gets back. Timing is awkward, to say the least.
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WINNIPEG JETS: Mark Scheifele won it with a buzzer-beater, 0.3 seconds left, as the Jets beat the Lightning 4-3 tonight. Hard to script a better finish.
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Is Zayne Parekh already a better offensive defenseman than people give him credit for?
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