Right around one year ago today, Craig Conroy and the Calgary Flames pulled off an unexpected trade, picking up Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee from the Philadelphia Flyers. This was one of those deals that truly came out of nowhere, with no smoke at all leading up to the deal. So, how has the trade worked out for the Flames thus far, and was it worth it? Let’s take a look.
The trade
First off, let’s look over the details of the trade. There were quite a few moving pieces to this one, with six total assets involved in the final trade.
| To Calgary | To Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| F Morgan Frost | F Andrei Kuzmenko |
| F Joel Farabee | F Jakob Pelletier |
| 2025 2nd round pick (Shane Vansaghi) | |
| 2028 7th round pick |
Overall, the Flames shipped out four total assets. They moved two draft picks, two players, and received two NHL players in Frost and Farabee. Kuzmenko, Pelletier, and Frost were all pending free agents at the end of the 2024–25 season. Farabee, meanwhile, had three years remaining at a cap hit of $5M AAV.
The Flyers ended up using the 2025 2nd round pick on Shane Vansaghi at 48th overall. The American forward is currently playing for Michigan State University.
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How it has gone for the Flyers
For the Flyers, this was always a trade to simply move out bodies and money. Both Frost and Farabee had been floundering for a while in Philadelphia and clearly had no future with the rebuilding roster. The Flyers wanted to make room for younger, more promising players as they continued to rebuild, and Frost and Farabee simply didn’t fit into their plans.
While Frost still had value, he just wasn’t a fit under the current coaching staff in Philadelphia, and was even healthy scratched at times. Farabee, meanwhile, was essentially a cap dump for the Flyers given his struggles only two years into his six-year, $$30M contract.
Even further evidence of the Flyers’ intentions was how they handled Kuzmenko and Pelletier after the trade. After just seven games in Philadelphia, the Flyers ended up flipping Kuzmenko to L.A. in return for a third-round pick in the 2027 draft. Pelletier, meanwhile, played 25 games for the Flyers to close out the season but was not qualified by the team and became a free agent.
With the 2025 second-round pick, the Flyers selected forward Shane Vansaghi out of Michigan State. The 19-year-old forward has really struggled in his D+1 season, currently sitting on just eight points in 24 games. At this point, his ceiling is likely a third-line forward at best.
How it has gone for the Flames
For Calgary, this was a bit of a perplexing deal. Given the state of the team in 2024–25, moving out a second-round pick for a couple of middle-six forwards in their mid 20s was a strange call. A retooling roster should be adding more picks, not trading them away.
With that said, on paper and in terms of raw value, this deal was a clear win for Calgary. Pelletier had cleared waivers earlier that season, and Kuzmenko was in the midst of a horrendous season in Calgary. Both players had nearly zero value when the Flames traded them, so they didn’t lose much value in this deal. The main loss was always the second-round pick, which ended up at 48th overall.
Frost and Farabee meanwhile, at least had a better chance to rebound and become impactful NHL players again. The remaining of the 2024–25 season was a nightmare though, with Frost and Farabee combining for just 18 points in 63 games to close out the year in Calgary.
2025–26 has been better
The good news is that the 2025–26 season has gone better for Frost. The 26-year-old is currently on pace for 41 points, which would tie the second-highest total of his career. He’s become one of the team’s better forwards this season after signing a 2-year extension in the offseason. The Flames will need to decide if he’s part of their long-term future soon, though, given he will become a UFA in 2027.
Farabee, meanwhile, is sitting on a 32-point pace, which is an improvement over last season but would still register as one of the worst seasons of his career. Given he still has another two years left under contract, the Flames continue to hope Farabee can find the form that once made him a 50-point player.
A win on paper
Just as it was at the time, this trade continues to be an obvious win on paper for the Flames. Both Pelletier and Kuzmenko are no longer in Philadelphia, and the second-round pick looks to have turned into a third-line forward at best.
Frost turning a corner this season has been a big win for the Flames, as he’s filled a position of need for the current roster. The big question will now be what the Flames do with Frost over the next year. Will he become a veteran leader for the next wave of Flames players, or will they ship him out for picks and prospects?
The issue with this trade wasn’t the value being moved out; it was the merit behind the trade. Does a middling team in the Flames really need to add a couple of middle-six forwards to an already crowded forward group? Not really, and if anything, all it does is keep them in the middle of the pack. At the end of the day, the value is a win for Calgary, but a second-round pick and a potential third-round pick for Kuzmenko hold more value for a rebuilding team.
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