Elliotte Friedman claims Philadelphia Flyers 4-player trade could be 'big win' for Calgary Flames, names $30,000,000 winger as 'biggest X factor'

By Jackson Weber

Modified Jan 31, 2025 17:56 GMT

Follow Us

Share

0 Discuss

The Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers agreed on a big trade on Thursday night. Calgary acquired two young forwards in Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost, while Philly received Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, and two draft picks in return.

Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman broke down his thoughts on the deal in Friday's edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast.

"I think Philly just simply said, we want to clear some space," Friedman said. "And they accomplish that in particular by moving on from the Farabee contract. I think he's the biggest X factor here... everybody knows, kind of now what Kuzmenko is, Pelletier has got a chance to grab a role, but Farabee is the guy here who has shown the highest offensive ceiling."

The analyst then spoke about how a move from the coaching of John Tortorella to that of Ryan Huska could have an impact on Farabee.

"The thing about John Tortorella is, you know, he wants you to be hard, he's very much that Flyer mentality of, we want you to be skilled and we want you to be hard," Friedman said. "Joel Farabee is skilled, but he wasn't hard enough for Tortorella. I'm curious now, with a guy like Ryan Huska, who can be tough, but also can bring the velvet glove a little bit more, can he find that higher level?"

Joel Farabee is in the third season of a six-year, $30,000,000 contract, while Morgan Frost is a pending RFA in the final season of a two-year, $4,200,000 contract.

Frost and Farabee will help the Flames in their push for the playoffs

Coming into the season with very little expectations, the 2024-25 campaign has been a pleasant surprise for the Calgary Flames. The Flames (57 points) currently hold the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Vancouver Canucks.

Despite being 24, and 25 years old respectively, Morgan Frost, and Joel Farabee have plenty of experience in the NHL, having both played over 250 career games. Frost has put up 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 49 games this season, while Farabee has totaled 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in 50 games.

Frost and Farabee will likely make their Flames debut when they host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. The puck drops at 10:00 p.m. EST at the Scotiabank Saddledome.