Additions of Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee Will Help the Flames For Years To Come
The Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers made a trade late Thursday night. The Flames acquire Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee for Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier, along with a second-round pick in 2025 and a seventh-round pick in 2028.
Flames General Manager Craig Conroy has been looking to add offense to his team since the beginning of the season. Not to mention, he has been looking for a young center that can fit into the age group of his squad. Instead of giving up a first-round pick, which he might be hesitant to do. Conroy moves out players who need new deals at the end of the season for two players who can help now and in the future: Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee.
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As TSN’s Director of Scouting Craig Button told Jay Onrait on SportsCenter, the Calgary Flames improved their team’s offense with Frost and Farabee. These players are more consistent than Kuzmenko and Pelletier. Sometimes, it is best for players to change scenery to find their game again.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Jay Onrait: “And here is the reported trade, the massive deal between the Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers, Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to the Flames. Andre Kuzmenko, Jake Pelletier, and the second and seventh rounders to the Flyers. Farabee has a $5 million AAV for three more seasons after this year. Frost is making $2.1 million this year. He will be a restrictive free agent at the end of this season. Both Kuzmenko and Pelletier are free agents at the end of the season. Kuzmenko a UFA and Pelletier an RFA.
This is a fun way to start the show, and I’m so excited to talk to our Director of Scouting, Craig Button from Calgary, fresh off the pickleball court, he took some time to join us. So Craig, I’m so thankful that you did that. So Calgary gets Frost and Farabee in exchange for Kuzmenko and Pelletier. How do you think Craig Conroy did in the deal, and what will Frost and Farabee bring to this team.”
Craig Button: “I think Craig Conroy made a really, really strong trade for his team. Listen, they’re not a very good offensive team. They struggle to score goals. So what do you do? You try to find offense in different ways. Morgan Frost is shown to be a very good offensive player. Joel Farabee, for whatever reason, seemed to have fallen out of favor in Philadelphia, but he’s another really good player.
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He can grind on the boards, and he can grind at the net. He can kill penalties. He adds offense. You just pointed out, Jay, he’s got three more years after this one at a $5 million cap hit. So when you think about Craig Conroy trying to find offense, trying to find players that fit into a certain age group. I mean, Joel Farabee is going to be part of what they’re doing to try to move forward with a really good young prospect group.
Now Joel Farabee comes in, Morgan Frost, a fresh start. We’ve seen him be very productive. But when you look at a team’s weakness, a general manager’s job is to try to address that. That’s exactly what Craig Conroy did. Kuzmenko wasn’t scoring for him. He was a healthy scratch. Pelletier, he was up and down.
He’d return to the NHL and played quite well. And the dollars are really significant here for the Calgary Flames. I don’t think it hinders them in any way. So this is a this is a real, real strong trade for Craig Conroy, where he’s absolutely approved his team today and it for the coming years. That’s what you’re trying to do. Outstanding.
The Calgary Flames are still in contention in the Western Conference Playoff mix. This is a general manager telling his team he believes in them enough to go add and shake up to the roster. Not only for team success now, but for consistent team success in the future.”