NHL Commerce Grades: Flyers Ship Frost and Farabee to Flames for Kuzmenko and Pelletier

NHL Commerce Grades: Flyers Ship Frost and Farabee to Flames for Kuzmenko and Pelletier

The Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers mixed so as to add their very own chaotic twist to the cocktail, executing a commerce whereas each groups have been in the midst of their video games. Media stories signaled an incoming transfer involving gamers who have been actually within the lineup.

The Flames added two gamers who will assist reshape their id now and sooner or later, whereas the Flyers cleared the decks of gamers who didn’t match their long-term model.

Let’s consider the gamers concerned and assess the deal’s deserves for each the Flyers and Flames.

Calgary Flames

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David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Pictures

CALGARY, AB – JANUARY 23: Look on Calgary Flames middle Jakob Pelletier (22) through the Buffalo Sabres versus the Calgary Flames sport on January 23, 2025, at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB (Photograph by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Pictures)

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Morgan Frost is a middle-six middle who performs a 200-foot sport. The 2017 first-round choose likes to get plenty of touches on the puck within the defensive and impartial zones. I like his skating, and he has good spatial consciousness and a pleasant contact on the puck. These instruments make him good at discovering teammates by the impartial zone to determine offensive zone possession.

A once-dominant offensive producer within the OHL, Frost hasn’t fairly concerned himself offensively as anticipated. He wasn’t in a position to persistently create scoring probabilities in Philadelphia, and he is hovered round a 40-point common in his NHL profession, peaking at 46 factors in 2022-23.

With robust defensive performances and confirmed secondary offense, Frost is already a robust third-line caliber middle. Even at age 25, there may be potential for extra now that he’s away from John Tortorella’s tight grasp. He is a pleasant match for a Flames crew whose top-six facilities are at present the 34-year-old Nazem Kadri and 35-year-old Mikael Backlund, the latter of whom is especially overutilized.

Joel Farabee, a winger, was the 14th total choose within the 2018 NHL draft and has proven promise in his early NHL profession. As a 20-year-old, he tallied 20 targets in 55 video games in 2021. Even final season, when he and Tortorella did not see eye-to-eye, Farabee hit the 50-point mark.

Farabee’s sport has fallen off this season, and it was time for the 2 sides to half methods. He is nonetheless solely 24 years outdated and has confirmed lots within the NHL already.

Regardless of barely clocking at 6″0, Farabee has proven a willingness to play larger than his measurement. In juniors, he was tenacious within the corners and across the internet and sacrificial within the defensive zone. He hasn’t fairly introduced that to the NHL but however, this season apart, Farabee has been an engine for offense.

There is a cause why the Flyers signed him to a six-year, $30 million contract in 2021. He’ll have a chip on his shoulder in Calgary, and there may be each cause to imagine he may very well be a top-six winger for the following six-plus seasons.

Final season’s liquidation of many of the Flames’ core leaves common supervisor Craig Conroy making an attempt to construct anew. However in a transition season, rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf has boosted the Flames considerably unexpectedly into the center of the Western Convention playoff combine.

The acquisition of Frost and Farabee is a inventive method to enhance the roster that matches with the crew’s real looking trajectory. They’re a greater crew now, however extra importantly, the Flames introduced in two younger gamers who’re underneath crew management and may very well be fixtures on a great crew as quickly as subsequent season.

Grade: A

Philadelphia Flyers2 of two

Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Pictures

PHILADELPHIA, PA – JANUARY 07: Philadelphia Flyers middle Morgan Frost (48) appears to go through the sport between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers on January seventh, 2025 on the Wells Fargo Heart in Philadelphia, PA. (Photograph by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Pictures)

There’s one angle to this commerce that makes some sense for Philadelphia. Head coach John Tortorella, ever the stickler for particulars, has this crew taking part in remarkably structured hockey.

With competent goaltending, the Flyers are a cushty playoff crew. Nevertheless, they’ve restricted cap area and no notable contracts coming off the books within the offseason.

Apart from goaltending, Philly lacks top-of-the-line expertise. No disrespect to Owen Tippett and Travis Sanheim, however these two can’t be the most effective gamers on a crew aspiring for something greater than 94 factors and a first-round playoff exit. Between Farabee ($5 million by 2028) and Frost ($2.1 million now and due for a increase in the summertime), GM Daniel Briere cleared out two mid-tier gamers to create wiggle room for upgrades.

Much less comprehensible is how the Flyers obtained so little for 2 younger, established NHLers.

Jakob Pelletier, who turns 24 in early March, has 21 factors in 61 profession NHL video games. To be truthful, he is performed significantly better than these numbers point out, and he is averaging underneath 13 minutes this season. The 5’9″ winger performs with plenty of coronary heart and was dominant in minor-league hockey. He has a practical probability to develop into a top-nine NHL winger.

Andrei Kuzmenko has had an up-and-down NHL profession. He scored 39 targets in 2022-23 in Vancouver, and after a change-of-scenery commerce to Calgary final season, he obtained scorching with 25 factors in 29 video games. Nevertheless, he has been pedestrian this season and fell out of favor in Calgary.

The virtually-29-year-old has a $5.5 million cap hit, however his contract expires after the season. Perhaps he catches hearth in Philadelphia and re-signs, or perhaps the Flyers flip him earlier than the deadline for one more asset.

Each gamers might present worth, however what stands out is how little market worth the Flyers wrung from Calgary. Simply months in the past, Pelletier was on waivers as a free asset. Kuzmenko was a lame duck on the lowest worth of his quick NHL profession.

Second- and seventh-round picks hardly make up the distinction, provided that Philadelphia traded two gamers with the observe data and upside that Frost and Farabee provide.

Grade: C-