Trade grades: Flames take calculated swing in 4-player swap with Flyers

The Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers pulled off a four-player trade on Friday with Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, Andrei Kuzmenko, and Jakob Pelletier swapping teams. The Flyers also received a pair of picks in the deal.

Below, we break down what the trade means for both sides and hand out grades.

Flames

Giving up future assets for rentals in the middle of a retool would've been a foolish decision by general manager Craig Conroy. But things are a little different in Calgary than most anticipated: Entering Friday, the Flames are holding down the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. So with Farabee and Frost both under team control through at least next season, Conroy made his team immediately better without sacrificing the long-term plan. As he said following the deal, the team "earned" this move with their play through the first 50 games.

The best part for Calgary is that Frost and Farabee are undeniably the two most valuable assets in this trade.

Let's start with Frost, a true center. Most NHL teams are desperate for help down the middle of the ice. Look at the contract Chandler Stephenson signed this offseason. Yanni Gourde, another true center, will likely cost a first-round pick if the Seattle Kraken choose to move him this trade deadline. The Flames were certainly searching for a centerman, and the deal means they can now move Yegor Sharangovich to the wing, where he's best suited.

Frost isn't a game-breaker. But he's already established himself as a quality middle-six center by posting strong defensive metrics while putting up between 40-50 points. At 25 years old, there's still room for him to grow, and a change of scenery could help. He's a pending restricted free agent so, at worst, the Flames could re-sign him for one year and trade him for a decent haul at next year's deadline, when teams are inevitably desperate for centers again. At best, he shines in Calgary and becomes a mainstay.

Farabee could also benefit from a change of scenery after six up-and-down years in Philly. The 24-year-old struggled this season, but he's just one year removed from a 22-goal, 50-point campaign. There's still legitimate top-six winger potential in his game. There are also three additional years left on his contract, which carries an average annual value of $5 million per season. That may seem steep but, with a rising salary cap, it could quickly look like a bargain if he returns to his 50-point form.

Considering the Flames only had to part with a negative asset in Kuzmenko, a fourth-liner in Pelletier, and the picks, this is arguably Conroy's best move in his brief tenure as Calgary's GM thus far.

Grade: A

Flyers

It's clear Frost and Farabee weren't part of Philadelphia's long-term plan under GM Daniel Briere, but it's still hard to feel overly optimistic about the return.

Kuzmenko is a flawed player. He doesn't skate or defend well, and he's posted just four goals in 37 games this season. His 39-goal rookie campaign looks like it'll be an outlier despite his decent shot and good net-front skills. Arguably most importantly, he's a questionable fit under head coach John Tortorella.

However, Kuzmenko is a pending unrestricted free agent, which gives the Flyers long-term cap flexibility they didn't have with Farabee. The 28-year-old was teammates with rookie Matvei Michkov in the KHL, so the two might find some chemistry. If Kuzmenko goes on a heater over the next month, the Flyers might be able to flip him for picks at the deadline.

Pelletier, a 2019 first-round pick, is a pending RFA. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound winger hasn't quite found his way in the NHL yet, managing 21 points in 61 career games while playing mainly fourth-line minutes. He was a prolific offensive player in the AHL and QMJHL, so the 23-year-old could still develop into a middle-six winger. But he could be a tweener: too good for the AHL, not quite good enough for the NHL.

The second-round pick is the best asset coming back to Philadelphia. It gives the Flyers an astounding seven selections in the first two rounds of the 2025 draft as they continue to rebuild.

Grade: C-