Tag: Grading

Flyers president Keith Jones told The Inquirer back in November: “The things that are going to happen, you’ll be writing about for the first time.” Touché.

The Flyers completed a significant deal in the early hours of Friday morning, sending talented but enigmatic forwards Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee to the Calgary Flames for wingers Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier, a second-round pick in 2025, and a seventh-rounder in 2028. Here’s a closer look at the deal and how we grade it from a Flyers perspective:

Flyers grade: B

Flyers fans have been clamoring for general manager Danny Brière and Jones to do something, anything, in terms of the trade market. But it’s doubtful anyone saw this coming, especially with Farabee and Frost going together. Does it move the Flyers’ rebuild ahead by a century? Absolutely not. Does it make things interesting? For sure.

The loss of two young core players surely will send a shock wave through the room. After not much change from last season until now, the biggest question is will these departures sink it?

» READ MORE: 5 things to know about the Flyers’ big trade with the Calgary Flames

Farabee was well-liked. He’s dropped the gloves in defense of teammates a few times this year — and tried to do so with new Flames teammate Blake Coleman in October — while Frost was always smiling and joking with teammates and kept things light, regardless of the team’s results.

But the room should be fine, given the presence of veterans like Sean Couturier and Scott Laughton and the fact that Kuzmenko and Pelletier not only have happy-go-lucky personalities but already have relationships in there.

Kuzmenko was teammates with Matvei Michkov on SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League in 2021-22, and Pelletier played with Jamie Drysdale twice — on Canada’s 2019 U18 squad and the silver medal-winning World Junior team in 2021.

While Kuzmenko isn’t necessarily the game-breaker John Tortorella has spoken about adding, he does have the ability to shoot the puck and finish, especially around the net. Is he about to turn 29? Yes. Has he struggled the last two seasons? Also yes, but he was a latecomer to the NHL and the hope is the winger can reinvigorate his scoring touch with the Flyers — the one that potted 39 goals his rookie year with Vancouver in 2022-23. Oh, and guess who his center was then … none other than Elias Pettersson.

Pelletier also is a net-front guy who can play a 200-foot game much bigger than his 5-foot-9 size would suggest. The 23-year-old from Quebec is strong with his details but was unable to find a permanent spot in the Flames lineup — he even cleared waivers in October. He has a history of putting up monster numbers at the junior and American Hockey League levels but that hasn’t translated thus far in the NHL. According to a team source, the Flyers think he could be an important piece to the puzzle if they can unlock his offensive potential.

The question mark is how much time will they get? The duo will be free agents this summer; Kuzmenko is unrestricted, and Pelletier will be restricted. Aside from the salary cap rising, Pelletier and Kuzmenko should come in cheaper than the contract Frost would have required. Meanwhile, Farabee is signed at a $5 million cap hit through the 2027-28 season. According to PuckPedia, Pelletier’s qualifying offer is $840,000, while Frost’s qualifying offer would have been a minimum of $2.4 million.

Kuzmenko’s current cap hit is $5.5 million, but based on his current stats — four goals and 15 points in 37 games — it’s unlikely he’d get near that number on his next deal. But while he may have connections with the Flyers, his longevity with the club is still to be determined based on his age, position, defensive responsibilities that Tortorella holds all players to, and what he produces.

So the Flyers have made some moves and opened some space. PuckPedia has the Flyers’ cap space at $6.5 million. Still not enough for Pettersson, who has a cap hit of $11.5 million. But it is fair to say the chains are moving.

» READ MORE: The Flyers keep telling you they are rebuilding. Their latest trade is another sign to believe them.

As for the two players heading to Alberta, Frost and Farabee still have a lot of upside, and this trade could bite the Flyers. That said, a new spot may do them good. After all, it’s been a long time coming for Frost as the creative center has never seemed to truly fit into the organization’s long-term plans. Flames coach Ryan Huska emphasizes a 200-foot game with his centers, but Frost, who twice notched 40 points here, should have a longer leash than he did with Tortorella. He’ll be leaving all his struggles with the Flyers bench boss behind, which should help his confidence.

The Flyers’ plans after this season are still not in view. But this trade feels like a first step. They added another draft pick and now have seven picks in the first 64 this June. That’s a lot of capital in a draft that is not considered to be deep beyond the top two rounds. Could the four second-round picks and the three first-rounders be included in a package for a top-tier center? It certainly gives the Flyers options and makes them an attractive trade partner for teams looking to restock their draft cabinets.

Time will tell what the trickle down will be, but there’s a good chance we won’t know until the last moment — again.

Breakaways

The Flyers announced Friday evening that they have recalled goaltender Aleksei Kolosov from AHL Lehigh Valley. In a corresponding move, the Flyers optioned defenseman Adam Ginning, who was a minus-one in 12 minutes, 14 seconds of action on Thursday night, to the Phantoms. The Flyers also announced that blueliner Egor Zamula has been placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Jan. 23. Zamula has missed the past four games due to an upper-body injury.