The two teams have made plenty of trades together, something we’ve covered before in a flashback article. One trade with the Capitals in particular stands out above the rest, the Curtis Glencross trade in 2015.

To say that trade and the others following it has been a win for the Flames would be an understatement. It’s given the Flames plenty of key players over the past decades and is a trade tree that is still going strong.

Let’s take a look at what the Glencross trade tree has turned into.

Curtis Glencross as a Flame

Glencross was an undrafted player, initially signing with the Anaheim Ducks after two seasons at the University of Alaska-Anchorage. After two games with the Ducks, Glencross was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets, playing 36 games with them in 2007-08. That season saw him traded to the Edmonton Oilers, but he wasn’t offered a contract by them.

During the 2008 off-season, the Flames signed him, and the Kindersley, Saskatchewan native went on to have a productive career. He scored 13 goals in 2009-10, then 15 goals in 2009-10. The forward reached the 20-goal mark in 2010-11, scoring 24 goals and 43 points in 79 games, just to surpass his totals the following season, scoring 26 goals and 48 points in 67 games.

Glencross was productive in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, potting 15 goals and 26 points in 40 games. Over the span of 82 games, Glencross was on pace for 30 goals and 53 points. When he was in the lineup in 2013-14, he had a productive season, scoring 12 goals and 24 points in 38 games, on pace for 25 goals and 51 points over 82 games.

In his final season with the Flames, Glencross scored nine goals and 28 points in 53 games, but was traded ahead of the 2015 trade deadline for a 2015 second and 2015 third. The Flames didn’t use either of those picks, at least to draft a player.

Oliver Kylington

The third that they acquired was packaged with another third-round pick in the same draft for a 2015 second, which was then used to select Oliver Kylington. If you’re wondering who the Capitals’ third-rounder turned into, it was used to select Jens Looke, while the other third rounder was used to select Adin Hill.

Kylington went on to play six seasons with the Flames, scoring 17 goals and 55 points in 201 games. His best season by far was during the 2021-22 season, where the defenceman scored nine goals and 31 points in 73 games. He missed all of the 2022-23 season, and a large portion of the 2023-24 season, returning towards the end of the year.

This portion of the trade tree didn’t continue, as Kylington signed with the Colorado Avalanche following the 2023-24 season, playing 13 games with the Denver-based team in 2024-25. Before the trade deadline, he was involved in the Brock Nelson trade with the Islanders, playing six games with the team from Long Island.

Last off-season, Kylington returned to Sweden, playing with Djurgårdens IF. If that team sounds familiar, Flames’ prospect Theo Stockselius plays for their U20 team, and has even played a handful of games with their senior team this season.

Dougie Hamilton

The Flames also flipped that second-round pick they acquired from the Capitals. On Jun. 26, 2015, they packaged it with a 2015 first and another 2015 second to the Boston Bruins for Dougie Hamilton.

With the Capitals’ second, the Bruins acquired defenceman Jérémy Lauzon, who is currently teammates with Noah Hanifin, more on that in a bit. Although plenty of talented players were available 15th overall in 2015, the Bruins selected Zachary Senyshyn, who has played 16 NHL games. Mathew Barzal and Kyle Connor were selected with the following two picks. With the other second, the Bruins selected Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, who played 29 NHL games and is retired.

The Flames got three solid years from Hamilton. In 2015-16, he scored 12 goals and 43 points in 82 games. He scored a career-best 13 goals and 50 points in 2016-17, with those 50 points only being surpassed in 2022-23 with the New Jersey Devils. And in his last season, Hamilton scored 17 goals and 44 points in 82 games.

Shortly before the 2018 draft, he was packaged alongside Adam Fox and Michael Ferland to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Elias Lindholm and Hanifin.

Lindholm and Hanifin

In hindsight, that package sounds like quite a bit to give up, considering that Fox went on to win the Norris Trophy. However, he wasn’t going to sign with the Flames and also didn’t sign with the Hurricanes, ending up with the New York Rangers. Hamilton had three more solid seasons with the Hurricanes, before signing with the Devils, while Ferland suited up for 71 games with the Hurricanes, scoring 17 goals and 40 points in 71 games.

It was a big package to give up, but the Flames got a solid return. Hanifin played six seasons with the Flames, scoring 42 goals and 191 points in 420 games, including his 2021-22 season, potting 10 goals and 48 points as the Flames finished with the best record in the Pacific Division.

Lindholm also had a strong Flames’ tenure, scoring 148 goals and 357 points in 418 games, with 42 goals and 82 points in 82 games during the 2021-22 season, finishing as a finalist for the Selke Trophy that season.

Both players were traded ahead of the 2024 trade deadline.

The Hanifin trade

This is where the trade tree has two diverging paths. The Hanfiin branch is a bit easier to keep track of, even though it was the later trade. On Mar. 7, 2024, the Flames traded the left-shot defenceman to the Vegas Golden Knights for Daniil Miromanov, a 2024 third-round pick, and a 2026 first-round pick. To eat 25% of the salary, the Philadelphia Flyers also sent Mikhail Vorobyov to the Flames, and he was sent to Vegas in a subsequent trade later that day as part of the transaction.

All three assets acquired in this trade remain with the Flames. Miromanov, a right-shot defenceman from Russia, played the rest of the 2023-24 season with the Flames, scoring three goals and seven points in 20 games. Last season, the 28-year-old scored two goals and nine points in 44 games, but spent all but one game this season with the Flames’ American Hockey League team, where he has five goals and 15 points in 34 games.

With the 2024 third-rounder, the Flames drafted Russian netminder Kirill Zarubin, who plays with Tula Mikhailov Academy in Russia’s junior league. The 20-year-old has had a strong season with them, as he has a .929 save percentage and 2.10 goals against average in 30 games, with an 18-8-1 record. Time will tell if he’ll ever come stateside.

As for the 2026 first, it’s undetermined who’ll be selected with that pick. The Flames devalued the pick with their most recent trade, as they sent defenceman Rasmus Andersson to the Golden Knights last week. Knowing Flames’ general manager Craig Conroy, this will no doubt turn into a good pick.

The Lindholm trade

On Jan. 31, the Flames sent Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, a 2024 first-round pick, and a 2024 fourth-round pick.

Looking at the players who still remain with the team first, the 2024 first-rounder was used to select Matvei Gridin 28th overall. He had a productive junior season with the Shawinigan Cataractes in 2024-25, scoring 36 goals and 79 points in 56 games, adding eight goals and 17 points in 16 playoff games.

Most of Gridin’s 2025-26 season has been spent with the Calgary Wranglers, where he has 10 goals and 28 points in 32 games. He has had a cup of tea with the Flames, scoring a goal and two points in seven games.

Brzustewicz has also split his time between the AHL and NHL this season. In 23 games with the Wranglers, he scored four goals and 12 points, and has carved out a role for himself with the Flames. Through 16 games, the 21-year-old has picked up an assist. With the Andersson trade, one could assume he’ll get more playing time.

Jurmo, drafted in the third round of the 2020 draft by the Canucks, only played 29 games in North America. He split his time between the Wranglers and the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush last season, before being placed on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract. Jurmo plays for Kiekko-Espoo in Finland.

Kuzmenko was more productive after the trade than Lindholm was, funnily enough. In his 29 games after the Canucks traded him, Kuzmenko scored 14 goals and 25 points in 29 games with the Flames. Lindholm went on to score six goals and 12 points in 26 games, but was productive in the playoffs, scoring five goals and 10 points in 13 games before signing with the Boston Bruins before the 2024-25 season.

The last two trades stemming from the Glencross trade were both with the Flyers, as Kuzmenko and that 2024 fourth were traded to them in two separate trades.

The draft pick trade

Starting with the draft pick trade, the Flames traded the 107th overall pick to the Flyers in exchange for the 150th overall pick and the 177th overall pick.

The fifth was used to select Luke Misa, who scored 34 goals and 85 points in 67 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s Brampton Steelheads in 2024-25. After a slow start to his collegiate career, Misa has turned it on since the start of 2026, as he now has four goals and 11 points in 22 games with Penn State.

As for the sixth, it was used to select left-shot defenceman Eric Jamieson. Playing with the Everett Silvertips in 2024-25, he scored a career-best 14 goals and 36 points in 66 games, playing alongside Landon DuPont, a potential first overall pick in 2027. Jameison joined the University of Denver for the 2025-26 season, scoring six goals and 13 points in 25 games this season.

If you’re wondering about that fourth, the Flyers used it to select Finnish centre Heikki Ruohonen. He currently plays for Harvard alongside Flames’ prospect Aidan Lane, with Ruohonen scoring three goals and 10 points in 15 games.

The Kuzmenko trade

Lastly, the most recent trade in this trade tree saw the Flames package Kuzmeno with Jakob Pelletier, a second in the 2025 draft, and a seventh in the 2028 draft for Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost.

Kuzmenko played just seven games for the Flyers, as he was flipped to the Los Angeles Kings for a third-rounder in the 2027 draft. Ending his 2024-25 season with the Kings, Kuzmenko scored five goals and 17 points in 22 games, with three goals and six points in six playoff games. Re-signing with the Kings, he has 10 goals and 20 points in 44 games this season.

Pelletier, the Flames first round pick in 2019, played 25 games with the Flyers to end his 2024-25 season, scoring three goals and eight points. In the off-season, he signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he’s been held pointless in one game. In the AHL, Pelletier has 19 goals and 41 points in 35 games.

As for the 2025 second-rounder the Flames gave up, the Flyers went on to select Shane Vansaghi with the 48th overall pick. Last season with Michigan State University, he scored six goals and 16 points in 37 games. Through 20 games as a sophomore, he has two goals and eight points in 20 games.

Farabee has gone on to have a solid first full season with the Flames, scoring 10 goals and 19 points in 50 games. Frost has been the better of the two, scoring nine goals and 23 points in 50 games, as the pair have produced well in a middle-six role.

Who knows where this trade tree will go next, but with nine assets still currently in the Flames system, this tree has the chance to go on for a very long time.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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