A couple of weeks ago, the Calgary Flames traded Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, and two picks to the Philadelphia Flyers for Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost.
That trade is the topic of today’s Throwback Tuesday. Well, kind of, as we’ll look at how this trade has expanded to what it has become today thanks to one trade deadline move a decade ago.
Let’s take a look at the Curtis Glencross trade tree!

Curtis Glencross’ career as a Flame

Growing up in Alberta, Glencross played for the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, scoring 42 goals and 68 points in his final year. However, he went undrafted, played two seasons at the University of Alaska – Anchorage, before turning professional and signing a contract with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
Glencross played parts of four seasons in the American Hockey League from 2003-04 until 2006-07, with the latter year seeing him make his National Hockey League debut where he played nine games with a goal. He played 36 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2007-08 where he scored six goals and 12 points before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. Glencross scored an additional nine goals and 13 points in 26 games with the Flames’ provincial rivals.
In the summer of 2008, Glencross signed with the Flames and his career took off. In parts of seven seasons with the Flames, he scored 114 goals and 242 points in 418 games, including a career-high of 26 goals and 48 points in the 2011-12 season.
However, in the final year of his deal, the Flames traded him to the Washington Capitals on Mar. 1 for a 2015 second and third-round pick. Thus began a trade tree that still benefits the Flames massively to this day.

The 2015 third-round pick

At the 2015 draft, the Flames used the Capitals’ third-round pick (83rd overall) along with their own third-round pick (76th overall) to land the 60th overall pick from the Arizona Coyotes. They used that pick to select defenceman Oliver Kylington.
Kylington played six seasons with the Flames, scoring 17 goals and 55 points in 201 games. His career year came in 2021-22, where he scored nine goals and 31 points in 73 games, with a goal and three points in 12 postseason games.
Due to the 27-year-old signing with the Colorado Avalanche this past off-season, this portion of the trade tree came to an end.

The 2015 second-round pick

Like the Capitals third-round pick, the Flames packaged the second-round pick they received in the Glencross trade. The Flames packaged that Capitals pick with their own 2015 first-round pick (15th overall) and their own second-round pick (45th overall) for defenceman Dougie Hamilton.
The defenceman only played three seasons with the Flames, scoring 42 goals and 137 points in 245 games. Moreover, he played four postseason games with the team in the 2017 postseason, picking up an assist.
On Jun. 23, 2018, Hamilton was traded along with Michael Ferland and Adam Fox (who seemed unlikely to sign) to the Carolina Hurricanes for Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin. Sure, Fox went on to win the James Norris trophy in 2020-21, but the Hurricanes also traded him for a second-round pick in the 2020 draft.
Even then, this trade worked out pretty well for the Flames.

Noah Hanifin

The shorter branch of this trade revolves around left-shot defenceman Noah Hanifin.
He was good for the Flames, playing 420 games and scoring 42 goals and 191 points. He was on the team’s roster when they finished first in the Pacific Division in 2021-2, playing 12 postseason games with three assists.
Before the 2024 trade deadline, there were plenty of trade rumours surrounding Hanifin and the Flames elected to trade him to the Vegas Golden Knights on Mar. 6, 2024. In return, the Flames received defenceman Daniil Miromanov, a 2026 first-round pick, and a 2024 third-round pick.
Miromanov played well after the trade, scoring three goals and seven points in 20 games with the Flames. The right-shot defenceman has become a regular for the Flames in 2024-25, playing 36 games where he has a goal and seven points in 36 games.
As for the 2024 third-round pick, it was used to select Russian netminder Kirill Zarubin. This season with Tula Mikhailov Academy’s J-20 team, he has a .934 save percentage and a 2.34 goals against average.
Of course, the big return for Hanifin was the 2026 first-round pick. Unless there’s a massive falloff for the Golden Knights, that will be a late first-round pick. However, with how well the Flames drafted in 2024, don’t discount them from finding an impact player.

Elias Lindholm

Also traded before the 2024 trade deadline was Elias Lindholm. The right-shot centre spent six seasons with the Flames, scoring 148 goals and 357 points in 418 games. This included a 2021-22 season where he scored 42 goals and 82 points in 82 games, by far a career-high.
On Jan. 31, 2024, Lindholm was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defence prospect Hunter Brzustewicz, and Joni Jurmo, as well as the Canucks 2024 first and fourth. To balance the salary cap, the Flames also received Andrei Kuzmenko. More on him in a bit though.
Brzustewicz torched the Ontario Hockey League in 2023-24, scoring 13 goals and 92 points in 67 games, finishing second in defenceman points, four behind Zayne Parekh. Unfortunately, Brzustewicz hasn’t found the same success in the American Hockey League as of yet, as he has three goals and 18 points in 46 games.
Jurmo was picked by the Canucks in the third round of the 2020 draft. The 2024-25 season is his first in North America and he’s split it between the ECHL and AHL. With the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush, he scored two goals and seven points in nine games. In his 10 AHL games with the Calgary Wranglers, he has no points and four penalty minutes.
The 2024 first-round pick ended up being the 28th overall pick in the draft. It was used to select Russian winger Matvei Gridin, who has 27 goals and 61 points in 46 games with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Québec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
At the draft, the Flames traded down, moving the Canucks’ fourth-round pick to the PhiladelphiaFlyers for the 150th overall pick and the 177th overall pick, selecting Luke Misa and Eric Jamieson respectively.
This season with the Brampton Steelheads of the OHL, Misa has 30 goals and 65 points in 49 games, tied for eighth in goals in the league and 17th in points. It’s worth noting that there are three Flames prospects ahead of him in points, Jacob Battaglia, Parekh, and defenceman Henry Mews. The 2024 draft was terrific for the Flames.
As for Jamieson, he plays for the Western Hockey League-leading Everett Silvertips where he has eight goals and 27 points. He’s just two goals and five points shy of matching his career-best season and is set to play for the University of Denver in 2025-26.
Lastly, we have Andrei Kuzmenko. After the trade, he scored 14 goals and 25 points in 29 games with the Flames. It’s worth noting he only had eight goals and 21 points in 43 games with the Canucks before the trade. However, he struggled this season, scoring just four goals and 15 points in 37 games with the Flames before being involved in the deal with the Flyers.

Andrei Kuzmenko

Kuzmenko has played just one game for the Flyers, picking up an assist. Jakob Pelletier has yet to play for the team and who knows who the Flyers will pick with the 2025 second-round and 2028 seventh-round picks.
Frost and Farabee have made an immediate impact for the Flames. The former has two goals in five games while Farabee has a goal in five games. Both are under contract until at least the end of next season.
There’s a good chance that this trade tree can continue for a couple of more decades if the Flames can hit on one or two of their prospects. Who knows what the future holds but this trade tree just keeps on getting better.
Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.
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