Considering how both players started the season, it’s nothing short of remarkable that the Calgary Flames were able to extract any value in trading Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.

Kuzmenko and Pelletier were fan favourites who definitely had their ups and downs in Calgary, and they both appeared to be on an upswing over the past few weeks. It’s hard to say for certain, but their strong play of late may have enabled the Flames to make two long-term upgrades at once for the low cost of a 2025 second-round pick and a 2028 seventh-round pick.

‘Buy low, sell high’ — that’s how it goes, right? In a sense, the Flames seem to be doing that here. Kuzmenko, who the Flames bought low on in the first place, may have played his way back into positive value territory over the last couple weeks, and Pelletier undoubtedly has more value today than he did when he cleared waivers back in October. Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee, the two players coming to Calgary in the surprise swap, have both been in and out of John Tortorella’s doghouse in Philadelphia this season.

Kuzmenko certainly wasn’t widely sought after by the end of his Vancouver Canucks tenure, which concluded exactly one year ago Friday. The happy-go-lucky winger struggled enormously as a sophomore under head coach Rick Tocchet and needed to go to make room for Elias Lindholm (as well as Elias Pettersson’s impending extension). The Flames were happy to take on Kuzmenko and his $5.5 million cap hit to make that deal work — and they were thrilled when he outscored Lindholm down the stretch in 2023-24.

Although he only mustered up four goals and 15 points in 37 games with the Flames this season, Kuzmenko is still more valuable today than he was last January because he no longer comes with any additional term on his contract. For the Flyers, he’s a rental who could benefit from reconnecting with former SKA St. Petersburg teammate Matvei Michkov. If anything, the Flames managed to find one of the only teams that might still see Kuzmenko as an asset and used that as added leverage to swing a deal.

Kuzmenko sure looked to be playing for a change of scenery over his past handful of outings, mustering up three goals and five points while skating higher up in the rotation in his last five games as a Flame. Was he being showcased? If so, it seems to have worked. A month ago, Kuzmenko probably would’ve cleared waivers; on Thursday, he was one of the main pieces in a major trade.

Pelletier’s case is different. The Flames used the 23-year-old forward as a bit of a Swiss Army Knife after recalling him from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers in early December. He was looking every bit like a potential long-term fit as a middle-six forward for these Flames. Kuzmenko was never going to stick around in Calgary beyond this season, but Pelletier will be missed for a while. He brought a terrific mix of energy, skill, and enthusiasm to the table for this group.

The Flames wouldn’t have moved on from Pelletier unless they felt they had an offer they couldn’t refuse. Otherwise, why bother? He’s a fun, young, and versatile player. He’s also not quite as good as Farabee or Frost, both of whom have already had 45-point seasons in the NHL (and could be destined for more). Calgary would’ve been thrilled if Pelletier ever came close to that output. For that reason, this was a no-brainer of a trade.

We’ve all known for a while about Craig Conroy’s desire to add a young centre. On Thursday, he finally got one. Frost has more points this season than Pelletier does in his NHL career to date. Farabee will likely end up with at least 15 goals for the fifth consecutive season and is under contract through 2028. Both these players have big-time upside in a new system. Getting both of them for Kuzmenko and Pelletier is found money, even with a couple of picks going to Philadelphia.

With Farabee and Frost expected to make their Calgary debuts on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings, and Connor Zary expected back from injury not too long thereafter, the Flames are in a nice position to maintain their current standings positioning down the stretch and sneak into a playoff spot this spring. They also still have all four of their first-round picks over the next two drafts, as well as an extra third-round pick in 2026. With the two former Flyers in the fold, the Flames are in a better spot for the present and the future than they were a week ago.

Don’t be surprised if this isn’t the last move Conroy makes this season. For now, it looks like it could end up as one of his best.

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