Danny Briere and the Philadelphia Flyers stole the attention of the hockey world while the pieces of a trade with the Calgary Flames came together.
The Flyers ultimately dealt two players that once looked like a key part of their long-term future both before and during the tenure of the current front office. However, key takeaways from the trade include more important indicators in the big picture of Philadelphia’s rebuild.
- Philadelphia Flyers Get: Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, 2nd-Round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, 7th-Round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft
- Calgary Flames Get: Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee
Flyers, Flames Strike A Deal
The trade superficially looks like a head scratcher for the Flyers. Farabee and Frost bring unquestionably more value to the current NHL roster than Kuzmenko and Pelletier.
Neither of Philadelphia’s new additions appear likely to make significant contributions to the organizational rebuild. The two draft picks in the deal aren’t the type of overwhelming return that offsets the disparity of NHL talent switching teams.
However, four additional indicators in the aftermath of the trade suggest the Flyers will make at least one follow-up move.
- Increased salary cap flexibility
- Stockpile of draft picks
- Willingness to subtract a player valuable to the organization’s culture
- Willingness to move top-scoring full-time center after stating “glaring need” for centers
Flyers in More Advantageous Situation
While the immediate salaries changing hands don’t look too different, the Flyers will benefit from cap relief much sooner. They shed Farabee’s annual $5 million cap hit through 2028 in favor of Kuzmenko’s short-term $5.5 million cap hit that comes off the books after the 2024-25 season.
The Flyers now own seven picks in the first two rounds of the 2025 NHL Draft (three in the first, four in the second). They’re unlikely to make all seven picks.
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Their stockpile of draft picks keeps growing, but they also must consider that an NHL organization can only hand out 50 contracts at a time. The limit decreases the likelihood that late-round prospects have an NHL future with the Flyers.
Briere also acknowledged Philadelphia’s “glaring need” for centers less than two weeks before trading the highest-scoring full-time center on the current roster. A move for a replacement looks like it’s looming.