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What the Calgary Flames are getting in Frost and Farabee

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Jan 31 2025, 7:12 pm
What the Calgary Flames are getting in Frost and Farabee
Kyle Ross/Imagn Images

Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy was a busy man last night.

While the Flames were in action against the Anaheim Ducks, word started breaking that Conroy was putting together a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. Shortly after the Flames walked away with a 4-1 victory, the deal was made official.

The Flames received Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee from the Flyers in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2028 seventh-round pick. This deal is being well-received by Flames fans, and for good reason.

Frost is the centre Calgary has been after

Since the start of the 2024-25 season, Conroy has said he would like to add an impactful centreman that fits into the organization’s retooling timeline. Acquiring Frost gives them just that.

Though Frost isn’t right-handed, he’s just 25 years old and can play a top-six role. He’s eclipsed the 40-point mark twice in his career and sits with 11 goals and 25 points through 49 games this season. He brings far more than just offence to the table, too.

Frost is very sound defensively, allowing him to be a player head coach Ryan Huska can use in all situations. He hasn’t been a penalty killer during his NHL career, but he can help play a shut-down role at even strength. He’s also 51.8% in faceoffs this year, an area in which the Flames have struggled immensely.

Another big part of Frost’s game is his speed. Per NHL Edge Tracking, his top skating speed burst – which topped out at 23.39 mph – measured in the 95th percentile leaguewide in 2023-24. He also sat in the 87th percentile when it came to achieving a speed burst of 20mph or higher.

The Flames acquiring Frost more than a month ahead of the trade deadline gives them a solid sample size going forward to get a better read on the type of player he can be for them. He currently carries a cap hit of $2.1 million and will be an RFA at the end of the season.

Farabee will add offence for the Flames

If you were to take a look at Farabee’s stats from this season only, you wouldn’t be very impressed. He’s really struggled through 50 games, registering only eight goals and 19 points. The Flames seem to be betting that he can get back to his prior levels of production.

The 24-year-old, who can play either wing, has hit the 20-goal mark twice in his career. The 2023-24 season saw him hit career highs with 22 goals and 50 points through 82 outings.

Farabee doesn’t possess the two-way abilities that Frost has, but his ability to put the puck in the net is a big luxury for a Flames team that has struggled to score this season. He’s currently in the third year of a six-year contract that carries a cap hit of $5 million.

Flames open for more deals

While the Flames won’t be big players when it comes to adding rentals at this year’s trade deadline, they’re still open for business in regards to moves like we saw last night.

“I’m always trying to make the team better,” Conroy said. “I’m really excited. I do think this [trade] fills a couple that I’ve been trying to find [since] the draft last year. It hasn’t been easy … You don’t know when it’s going to happen and when it’s the right time.”

Following last night’s deal, the Flames still have more than $17 million in cap space as per PuckPedia. With the trade deadline more than a month away, perhaps we see another trick up Conroy’s sleeve in the coming weeks.

Regardless of what the future holds for transactions, this move benefits the Flames both now and into the future. Fans should be thrilled with what Conroy was able to do.

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