Last season, the Calgary Flames decided to acquire two players who they felt would benefit the team’s future. On January 30th, the Flames acquired Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee from the Philadelphia Flyers. In exchange, they sent Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, a 2025 2nd round pick and a 2028 7th round pick. It’s been enough time since the trade broke down, so let’s see how it has aged so far for both teams.

Philadelphia Flyers

For the Flyers, this trade was honestly a cap dump of sorts. They chose to include Farabee in the deal, who was making $5 million per season with three years left. Frost was a pending RFA at the time, and clearly, the Flyers didn’t see a future with him.

As for their return, Kuzmenko would only play seven games for the team until he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a 2027 3rd-round pick. As for Pelletier, he would appear in 25 games for the Flyers, but the team decided not to re-sign him. He is currently under contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. With the Flames’ 2nd, the Flyers drafted forward Shane Vansaghi 48th overall.

Calgary Flames

As for the Flames, this was a trade that they felt would improve the team in the long run. Acquiring two players who fit their age range (Frost, 25) (Farabee, 24) and timeline for the future was something Flames GM Craig Conroy couldn’t refuse.

When they arrived in Calgary, both players had a slow adjustment period. Frost had three goals and 12 points in 32 games, while Farabee struggled more, notching only three goals and six points in 31 games. This season, both players got off to slow starts like the rest of the team, but have looked better recently. Farabee currently has seven points in 15 games, while Frost has eight points in the same number of games.

Overall, the Flames became a better team with these two players, especially since they were so close to making the playoffs last season. The trade was Conroy’s way of staying competitive while also building for the future.

Was the trade necessary?

This is a question that has been debated amongst the Flames fanbase since it’s been around. While Frost and Farabee are both good players, their addition didn’t solve the Flames’ struggles in goalscoring even to this day. The addition of Frost also addressed an organizational need down the middle, while Farabee seemed sort of redundant given the surplus of middle-six wingers on the team.

Sure, the Flames capitalized on Kuzmenko, who was having a rough season before getting dealt. Pelletier was also clearly not a part of the Flames’ vision for the future either. So in that sense, the trade can be justified.

Overall, my thoughts on the trade haven’t changed a ton. The Flames likely will make that trade any day, and Frost and Farabee are playing better. However, they shouldn’t be relied upon to fulfil big roles, as they’re simply depth players. There’s still a lot of season left, so time will tell if one or both of these players take a step or not.

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