Reviewing the Surprising Flyers-Flames 4-Player Trade

The last time the Philadelphia Flyers completed a trade while playing a game at the Wells Fargo Center completely changed the organization’s structure. That was when the Flyers revealed that Cutter Gauthier had refused to sign with them, leading to a trade with the Anaheim Ducks to acquire Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick on Jan. 8, 2024.

Just shy of 13 months later, general manager Daniel Brière pulled the trigger again while his team was on the ice. Though Thursday night/Friday morning’s trade with the Calgary Flames isn’t quite as seismic, it still sees the Flyers part ways with two former first-round picks and two of the six players remaining from the 2019-20 season, when the Flyers last made the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It also brings in another former first-round pick and a second-round pick from a better-than-expected Flames team hovering around the playoff bubble.

What the Flyers Get

Acquiring young talent is always paramount for a rebuilding team like the Flyers. Jakob Pelletier fits that bill as a first-round pick (No. 26 in 2019) with just 60 NHL games under his belt, spread out across the last three seasons. He proved this season, the final year of his entry-level deal, that he should be too good for the American Hockey League, tallying 19 points in 20 games for the Calgary Wranglers. He’s been somewhat productive for the Flames this season, tallying 11 points in 23 games while averaging about 13 minutes without a consistent special teams role.

The other player acquired from Calgary, Andrei Kuzmenko, has talent but isn’t young. He burst onto the NHL scene in the 2022-23 season with the Vancouver Canucks after coming over from Russia, tallying 39 goals and 74 points. That earned him a two-year, $11 million contract that expires at this season’s end. However, when his shooting percentage fell from a league-best 27.3% to 12.7% in 43 games for Vancouver last season, the Canucks cut bait, as he was moved to Calgary in the Elias Lindholm trade.

That deal supplied Kuzmenko with a second wind, as he performed at a similar rate as he did in his first NHL season, posting 14 goals at a 24.1% clip in his final 29 games of the 2023-24 season. But once again, regression has hit, with Kuzmenko down to just four goals on a 10.3% finishing rate through 37 games.

Both players are wingers, which is an odd fit with Philadelphia not only desperate for centers but trading one in this deal. One important factor may be getting another Russian player to link up with star youngster Matvei Michkov, especially with the team’s only other Russian skater (defenseman Egor Zamula) currently injured. Kuzmenko and Michkov were briefly teammates in the 2021-22 season for SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). It’s possible the Flyers could try to flip Kuzmenko, especially if they are willing to retain part of his $5.5 million cap hit. However, the best case may be to provide Michkov with some comfort during a rough patch, as the 20-year-old has been benched for part of two of his last three games.

Futures are futures, of course. Still, the Flyers are building up a treasure trove of early picks in the 2025 Draft, as they now own three first and four second-round picks. It’s likely all of the second-round picks will land inside the top 50 selections in the draft, allowing Brière to either perform one of the greatest volume bulk jobs of a prospect pool ever or get aggressive in the trade market.

What the Flames Get

Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost will always be linked in the minds of Flyers fans. They were both taken with first-round picks acquired for Brayden Schenn at the 2017 Draft — Frost No. 27 in 2017, Farabee No. 14 in 2018. Both debuted in the team’s excellent 2019-20 season, although only Farabee played a role in the playoffs. But both have also been symbols of the team’s inability to maintain that success, showing flashes of their skill but struggling to sustain their top levels.

Farabee appeared to break out in his sophomore season, scoring 20 goals in the shortened 2020-21 season. Former Flyers captain Claude Giroux even said Farabee would “break all my records” after finishing his Flyers career in February 2022, high praise from the franchise’s second-leading all-time scorer. Then general manager Chuck Fletcher was also bullish, quickly signing Farabee to a six-year, $30 million extension before his entry-level contract (ELC) expired.

The results of that deal have been mixed. Farabee took a slight step back in 2021-22, scoring 17 goals in 63 games. An offseason injury hampered his development the following season, with head coach John Tortorella essentially giving him a pass for an underwhelming 2022-23 campaign after he battled back from disc replacement surgery in the summer of 2022 (from ‘What Joel Farabee needs to do to take a step forward for Flyers in 2023-24,’ The Athletic, Aug. 8, 2023). Farabee finally looked to be back on the right track at the start of last season, scoring 40 points in 50 games through the end of January.

However, Farabee fell into a massive slump down the stretch, finishing with 10 points the rest of the way. Things haven’t gone well this season, either — he is last among Flyers forwards (min. 10 games played) in expected goal percentage (50.37%) and on-ice goals percentage (39.62%) and only has 19 points through 50 games.

It took longer for Frost to establish himself after a shoulder injury wiped out his 2020-21 season after just two games. It wasn’t until late 2021-22 that he became a full-time NHLer. The last three years have followed a similar trend. He has started slow — in the first two months of the previous three seasons he has five points in 22 games, 11 points in 26 games, and 10 points in 21 games.

Though he’s picked things up in the second half of the last two seasons (and has 15 points in 22 games since Dec. 1 this season), that streakiness combined with a long track record of frustration from Tortorella has always been a concern. He compared Frost’s game to a toilet seat (“up-and-down”) in November 2022 and healthy scratched him for 10 of the team’s first 20 games last season.

Both players have lots of skill, with Frost in particular capable of making very slick plays, including multiple through-the-legs goals. Farabee comes with commitment — that extension reaches its halfway point at the end of this season, meaning the Flames are on the hook for $5 million through 2028. Frost will be a restricted free agent and is likely in line for a modest raise from his current $2.1 million cap hit.

Summing It Up

From a locker room standpoint, this is one of the most consequential and stunning trades of Brière’s 22 months running the team. The Ivan Provorov trade may have been bigger from an asset standpoint, but that felt like a more obvious shakeup. The Drysdale-Gauthier deal was shocking, but once the details spilled, it was evident that the Flyers’ hands were tied.

That sure doesn’t seem to be the case here. Whether the main incentive was bringing in more young talent in Pelletier and the second-round pick, clearing Farabee’s $5 million cap hit, or sending a message that the front office is still aware that the team needs lots of changes to reach contention.

Related: Flyers’ Daniel Briere Has Savviness & Assets to Improve Roster

It’s also a sign that the Flames aren’t taking their surprisingly solid season lightly. Acquiring Farabee and Frost makes them a better team right now and with the dysfunctional Vancouver Canucks and the quietly slumping Los Angeles Kings neck-and-neck with them in the standings, the Flames are putting their foot down as they look to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.