After spending the first several years of their NHL careers with the Philadelphia Flyers, Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost have now been with the Calgary Flames for just over a year. Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of the Flyers trading the two forwards to Calgary in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, a second-round pick in 2025, and a seventh-round pick in 2028.
The trade was the first of a few by Danny Briere and Keith Jones that were meant to mark the final stages of the teardown portion of the rebuild.
Farabee was in the third year of a six-year, $30 million contract handed out by Chuck Fletcher in 2021. Morgan Frost was a pending restricted free agent, and the writing was on the wall that his time in Philadelphia was coming to an end. He was making $2.1 million, and that more than doubled when the Flames signed him to a two-year, $8.75 million contract in July.
Trading Farabee and Frost was a bit of a surprising move at the time. Farabee had become a focal point for the young players in the rebuild, and Frost was one of the few NHL-caliber centers that the Flyers had on the roster.
Dealing out two young players for a veteran like Kuzmenko and a project like Pelletier made some scratch their heads, but the Flyers did get a second-round pick and a seventh-round pick as well. Perhaps most importantly, the Flyers got out from under the $5 million owed to Farabee through 2028, and Frost’s time in Philadelphia had run out.
Flyers haven’t missed much from Farabee and Frost
There was some risk with the deal, though. Farabee had recorded career highs in goals (22), assists (28), and points (50) the season prior, but had just 19 points (8 goals, 11 assists) in 50 games with the Flyers last season. A change of scenery could’ve sparked something for Farabee, but he finished with just six points (three goals, three assists) in 31 games with the Flames.
This season, Farabee has 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) through 54 games, so the Flyers aren’t missing out on much.
Frost appeared to have hit his ceiling as well. He had 46 points (19 goals, 27 assists) in 81 games during the 2022-23 season, buoyed by a much-talked-about second half. However, that went down to 41 points the next year, and he was around that pace again with 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 49 games with the Flyers before being traded.
He finished the season with 12 points (3 goals, 9 assists) in 32 games in Calgary, and has 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) through 54 games this year.
All in all, the two former first-round picks showed their ceilings in Philadelphia, and Briere made the decision to clear out some cap space as well as spots on the roster by dealing out Frost and Farabee.
What did Flyers get back for Farabee and Frost?
Kuzmenko had an eventful but short-lived career in Orange and Black. He had five points (two goals, three assists) in seven games, but was flipped at the deadline to the Los Angeles Kings for a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. He found his game a bit in Los Angeles, putting up 17 points (5 goals, 12 assists) in 22 games, and he re-signed with the Kings in the offseason.
On the other hand, Pelletier never really got much of a chance in Philadelphia. He averaged just 10:31 of ice time per game, primarily on the fourth line, recording just eight points (three goals, five assists) in 25 games. The Flyers then elected not to extend a qualifying offer to the restricted free agent, losing the former first-round pick for nothing.
That appears to be the right decision, though, as Pelletier was picked up by the Lightning, where he’s played just two NHL games despite Tampa Bay’s injury issues. He does have 42 points (19 goals, 23 assists) in 37 AHL games, though, and perhaps he could’ve helped the Phantoms as a younger veteran.
The most important aspect of the return for Farabee and Frost has to be the second-round pick from Calgary. That was one of several second-round picks for Briere & Co. to use, and they selected Shane Vansaghi with the Flames’ pick.
Vansaghi may only have eight points (two goals, six assists) in 24 games on a very good Michigan State team, but the Spartans forward has the build for the NHL level. At just 19 years old, he stands at 6’2″ and 216 pounds. He could be a bottom-six power forward with power-play upside for the Flyers in a few years, and he could be here sooner than we think.
Where are Flyers one year after trade with Flames?
Dealing away Farabee and Frost opened up some flexibility heading into the offseason. The Flyers were able to use the cap space and open spot on the roster to trade for Trevor Zegras and sign Christian Dvorak in free agency.
Perhaps those moves would’ve still been made if one of the two Flames forwards was still in Philadelphia, but moving two middling forwards cleared the way for the Zegras trade as well as more playing time for guys like Bobby Brink.
Unfortunately for the Flyers, they’re not exactly in a different position right now than they were a year ago. They’ve crumbled in the second half after finishing the first half with a bang, and many are wondering if there are any Farabee or Frost-type moves to make ahead of this year’s deadline.
Last year on February 1, the Flyers were 23-24-6 for 52 points in 53 games (.491 point percentage), but just six points out of a playoff spot. The season was lost at that point, with hopes for more deadline deals to come.
Now, they’re at 58 points in 54 games and nine points out of a playoff spot despite the fact that this season was supposed to be somewhat of a turning point. The playoffs were never an external goal, but the Flyers were in the hunt for a playoff spot — or in a spot — for the majority of the first half of the season.
However, a 2-8-3 stretch that’s seen the Flyers get outscored 58-33 in 13 games since beating the Ducks once again has them on the outside looking in. And this time around, there aren’t any real assets to sell at the deadline.
We’ll see if anything changes in the month leading up to the deadline, but the Flyers are once again in purgatory just one year after making a move in an attempt to change that.