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Joel Farabee, Calgary Flames (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Flames Need More From Trade Acquisitions Frost & Farabee

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Rupert McDonald | Last updated Mar 18, 2025 11:05 AM ET

Most of the hockey world deemed the Calgary Flames the winner of a late January trade that saw them acquire Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, a 2025 second-round pick and a 2028 seventh-round pick.

It didn’t seem like a huge price to pay considering they were willing to move Kuzmenko for anything at that point, and Pelletier had already been on waivers. The fact they pulled it off without giving up a first-round pick felt like some tidy business from general manager (GM) Craig Conroy. Now, however, we are beginning to see why the Flyers may have been comfortable with such a move.

Frost & Farabee Not Bringing Much to the Plate

When the Flames first got both players, it looked like Frost was going to be a gem. Farabee started out quite slow, continuing what had been an ugly season to date with the Flyers, but Frost impressed in the early going. The 25-year-old scored a highlight reel goal in just his second game. He then scored again two outings later, and had three points through his first six games. The production wasn’t outstanding by any measure, but he was creating plenty of opportunities and seemed to gel well instantly.

It’s been tough sledding since, however, as Frost has managed just two points through his last 10 games. During that stretch, the Flames have scored just 20 goals, six of which came in a 6-3 win over the Flyers on March 4. This team is getting very little scoring from players not named Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri, and it’s hurting their chances of locking down a playoff spot.

As mentioned with Farabee, he started out very slow. He had just one goal through his first 11 games, before seemingly getting things together with goals in back-to-back outings. He’s looking much better than he did off the start, but hasn’t helped in the secondary scoring department as of late with just one assist through his last three outings. He has just four points through 16 games while Frost has five.

To Farabee’s credit, he’s been playing in more of a third-line role as of late after starting his tenure out with Huberdeau and Kadri. He also hasn’t earned time on the power play, which has hurt his production. Frost, however, has been a regular in the top six, and is also seeing first-unit opportunities on the power play. With the big role, one would have expected him to have far more than just five points thus far.

Both Getting Used to New Surroundings

In defence of both players, it can often take time to adjust to new surroundings following a trade. These are both young individuals who only knew one NHL organization in their respective careers. Farabee logged 384 career games in a Flyers sweater, while Frost had played 278. Even if the trades were somewhat expected, it is always still somewhat of a shock when a move actually takes place.

Morgan Frost, Calgary Flames (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images)

While it would be huge for the Flames if they could turn things around right away, fans may need to be patient with them. Being able to get to the offseason and take some time away to process things may wind up being what both players need. Their opportunities will still be plentiful in 2025-26, and will give a better indicator as to how impactful they can be for this organization in the future.

What you would hope would motivate them and the rest of the Flames is the fact that even with their struggles, they are just two points out of a wild-card spot with a game in hand on the Vancouver Canucks. They can potentially take back a playoff spot with a win tonight against the New York Rangers, albeit they would also need both the Canucks and St. Louis Blues to lose their respective outings.