The Calgary Flames had a quiet trade deadline, not making a single swap. Instead, they did their work a month prior, acquiring Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, a second-round pick in 2025 and a seventh in 2028. At the time, the trade was widely regarded as a win for the Flames and sophomore general manager Craig Conroy. Since then, this deal has continued to reflect well on Flames management for both its savviness and timeliness.

Whether or not Conroy was aware of a potential rise in the market when he preemptively made this deal on Jan. 30, getting this deal done well before the Mar. 7 deadline was mastery. By deadline week the league had become a seller’s market, with middling players like Anthony Beauvillier, Scott Laughton and Jake Walman all fetching premium picks. And the more sought-after trade bait like Brock Nelson and Brandon Carlo going for a first plus a blue-chip prospect.

Had Philadelphia held out until the deadline to move Frost and Farabee, they probably would’ve received a better package than what they ended up getting from the Flames. Conversely, if Conroy had bided his time any more than he did, he would’ve paid for it in additional picks and prospects or been priced out altogether as we approached the deadline and costs soared.

Since arriving in Calgary, Frost and Farabee have fit right in with the rest of the team, struggling to perform offensively just like everybody else. All jokes aside, they have certainly shown flashes of offensive prowess, which is more than can be said for any other Flames player outside of a select few.

Over the last calendar month, Frost (3) and Farabee (2) both sport low point totals but have as many or more than Mikael Backlund (2), Blake Coleman (1), Matthew Coronato (2), Rasmus Andersson (1) and Yegor Sharangovich (1) in that same time frame. Their lack of point production shouldn’t necessarily be held against them and is likely to improve as they get more games under their belts.

On the Flyers’ side of the ledger, they re-flipped Kuzmenko to the L.A. Kings on deadline day in exchange for a 2027 third-round selection. As for Pelletier, he has no goals and two assists through nine games with the Flyers and has been glued to the fourth line as he attempts to get in John Tortorella’s good graces. With the 2028 seventh-rounder almost not worth mentioning, that 2025 second was the biggest asset that went the other way in this deal. Though it still hurts to see that kind of draft capital go out the door, both Frost and Farabee are 25 years old and under team control for the foreseeable future, making the loss of future assets easier to stomach.

Regardless of whether it was foresight or pure dumb luck that allowed Conroy to tap into the market before prices ramped up, he’s making himself look good in just his second season at the helm. We graded this trade an A+ for Calgary when it happened back in January, and it looks even better here in mid-March.