Flames trade Kuzmenko, Pelletier and picks to Flyers for Frost, Farabee

The Calgary Flames traded wingers Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier, plus second- and seventh-round draft picks, to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night for center Morgan Frost and winger Joel Farabee.

Kuzmenko, who was held out of the Flames game against Anaheim on Thursday night, has four goals and 11 assists in 37 games this season.

After parts of eight seasons in the KHL, Kuzmenko made his NHL debut with Vancouver in 2022-23 and scored 39 goals.

Kuzmenkos production fell off last season, though, and he was traded to Calgary on Jan.

31, 2024.

Pelletier, Calgarys No.

26 overall draft pick in 2019, has four goals and seven assists in 23 games this season.

Kuzmenkos two-year, $11 million contract expires after this season, while Pelletier is set to be a restricted free agent.

Advertisement Frost, the No.

27 draft pick by the Flyers in 2017, and Farabee, the teams No.

14 pick in 2018, have both had up-and-down NHL careers.

While both have enjoyed sustained periods of offensive success, theyve also both slumped at times, including time spent as healthy scratches this season Frost for four games in November, and Farabee for three games this month.

Frost, who has 135 points in 278 career games with the Flyers, is a pending restricted free agent making $2.1 million this season.

Farabee, who has 201 points in 384 career games, carries a $5 million AAV for three more seasons after this one.

The Flyers also get a 2025 second-round pick and a 2028 seventh-round pick from the Flames.

What it means for the Flames On the surface, the Flames came out well here.

They traded a pending UFA (Kuzmenko), a former first-round pick with a low ceiling (Pelletier, who could benefit from a change of scenery) and relatively negligible draft capital in exchange for two everyday players who will be relied upon heavily for scoring and who will will be counted on in the teams top six.

Thats really good business for Flames GM Craig Conroy.

In an April 2024 mailbag , I identified Frost as a realistic trade target for Conroy.

Hes a young forward and a pending RFA who could benefit from being in a new environment, with upside to tap into.

A reclamation project.

The Flames are very much into that with their group, as they make themselves younger while trying to repurpose players.

Farabee fits that mold, too, and is signed through 2028 with a $5 million cap hit.

But if he can do better than his career-high 22-goal season, likely in a top-line role, Farabee would help a scoring-deficient team greatly.

Of course, if these two players dont work out, the Flames could be saddled with more tough contracts the exact opposite of what they need.

But its worth the risk, especially with what theyre giving up.

Advertisement They part ways with Kuzmenko, who doesnt provide much else when he doesnt score.

They also say goodbye to Pelletier, whose ceiling is that of a bottom-six energy forward, unless he proves otherwise.

Pelletier also went unclaimed on waivers earlier this season.

Its not a surprise that the Flames parted with draft capital, but only having to part with a 2025 second-round pick and a 2028 seventh-round draft choice is good value for Calgary.

What it means for the Flyers Flyers general manager Daniel Brieres most important duty between now and when the team is looking to compete again likely 2026-27 at the earliest is deciding who should be with the club for the long term.

On Thursday, he boldly declared that two former first-round picks who have had up-and-down careers will not be.

Frost never developed into the top-six center that the club was hoping for when it drafted him, while Farabee was in the midst of a disappointing offensive season, with just eight goals in 49 games.

Dealing Farabee clears his $5 million salary-cap hit, which would have been on the books through 2027-28, giving the Flyers more flexibility for the future.

But unless theres more coming before the March 7 trade deadline, this also makes this seasons Flyers a weaker team.

While Kuzmenko and Pelletier may be able to fill the scoring void left by Farabee, Frost was their most purely skilled center.

Theres no one on the roster or in the system who could logically fill that hole down the middle.

(Photo of Andrei Kuzmenko: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.