On Thursday night, the Calgary Flames made a trade. Per multiple reports, the Flames have sent forwards Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, Calgary’s second-round pick in 2025 and seventh-round pick in 2028 to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for centre Morgan Frost and winger Joel Farabee.
Trade chatter started up during warm-up in Calgary, as Kuzmenko – who had been expected to line up in his usual spot on the third line – was conspicuous by his absence on the ice.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman soon chimed in, linking the Flames and the Flyers early during the first period of the Flames’ game with the Anaheim Ducks.
Pelletier was pulled from the game by the Flames after the first period. Shortly after the Flames announced he would not return to the game, Friedman reported on social media that Pelletier was part of the deal. Throughout the remainder of the game, pieces of the deal trickled out on social media from the insiders.
Kuzmenko joined the Flames almost exactly one year ago, as part of the Elias Lindholm deal with Vancouver; the Flames also added Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, and first and fourth-round picks in the 2024 NHL Draft in the transaction. He’s in the final year of a two year deal, signed with the Canucks, that carries a $5.5 million cap hit. He had four goals and 15 points in 37 games with the Flames this season.
Kuzmenko was both brilliant and frustrating as a Flame. He dealt with an illness after his arrival that hampered his transition, but once he found his stride with the club, he was downright brilliant – especially on the power play. The Flames had one of the top power plays in the NHL over the final quarter of 2023-24, in no small part because of Kuzmenko’s skill with the puck.
But Kuzmenko has been a streaky scorer in the NHL. He either scores on 25% of his shots… or he goes cold and barely scores on any of them. He was demoted to the Flames’ bottom six and even scratched for nine games as the team tried to help him find his mojo. His play and production has taken a dramatic uptick of late, which probably rehabilitated his value on the trade market and facilitated his departure from Calgary.
Pelletier was the Flames’ first-round pick in 2019. After a superb junior career, he went pro and looked to be on track to becoming a high-end complimentary player before a major shoulder injury last season derailed him – as well as a re-injury near-miss shortly after his return on a hit by Jacob Trouba. Suddenly a bit tentative in puck battles, Pelletier cleared waivers in October and went down to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, but he got his swagger back in the minors and has been one of the Flames’ most consistent players since his return to the NHL in December.
Pelletier is on a one-year, two-way deal with an $800,000 cap hit. He had 4 goals and 11 points in 23 games with the Flames this season.
The 25-year-old Frost is a left shot centre and a product of the Ontario Hockey League, where he played with the Soo Greyhounds (alongside Rory Kerins). He was a first-round selection by the Flyers in 2017. He’s in his third season as a full-time Flyer after sort of being up-and-down in the prior three seasons. He has 11 goals and 25 points in 48 games this season. He’s shown flashes of brilliance as a Flyer, but he’s also been sort of up-and-down under the guidance of head coach John Tortorella. Frost is a pending restricted free agent after this season and currently carries a cap hit of $2.1 million.
The 24-year-old Farabee is a left shot winger and a product of the U.S. National Development Program and Boston University. He was a first-round selection by the Flyers in 2018. He’s played six seasons with the Flyers and has shown a lot of offensive promise during his tenure, but he’s, too, has been up and down under Tortorella. So far this season, he has 8 goals and 19 points in 49 games. (He’s on pace to have a career low offensive output.) Farabee is under contract through 2027-28 with a cap hit of $5 million.
More to come.
Sponsored by bet365: