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Calgary Flames player changes his jersey number to accommodate new trade acquisition

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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Jan 31 2025, 11:43 pm
Calgary Flames player changes his jersey number to accommodate new trade acquisition
Sergei Belski/Imagn Images

Rory Kerins will be wearing a different number following last night’s trade between the Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers.

Kerins, who recently made his NHL debut, was wearing No. 86 for the Flames. He’s since been re-assigned to the Calgary Wranglers, but if he is to get another shot this season, he will rock No. 6 instead.

Taking over No. 86 will be Joel Farabee, who was one of two players the Flames acquired last night. The 24-year-old has been wearing No. 86 since changing it from No. 47 ahead of the 2020-21 season.

As for Morgan Frost, the other player acquired in the trade, he will dawn No. 16. He had been wearing No. 48 during his time with the Flyers.

Seeing Kerins agree to change his number doesn’t come as a major surprise, as younger players often do this when veterans are acquired via trade. Usually, the veteran taking over the number will provide the younger player with a gift afterward.

As Flames fans are well aware, GM Craig Conroy made a trade last night that saw Jakob Pelletier, Andrei Kuzmenko, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2028 seventh-round pick to the Flyers in exchange for Farabee and Frost. It was a move that nobody saw coming, with Conroy even admitting talks about it didn’t begin taking place until yesterday morning.

While it’s been tough on fans and players alike to see Pelletier and Kuzmenko go, this trade is being viewed as a big-time win for the Flames. Frost gives them the young centreman they’ve been searching for, while Farabee provides offence to a team that has struggled to find the back of the net this season.

Both players are expected to be in the lineup tomorrow night versus the Detroit Red Wings. It’s a big outing as they look to continue to stay ahead of the Vancouver Canucks for the final wild-card position in the Western Conference.

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