<p>Everyone was calling for it. Everyone was clamoring for <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/philadelphia-flyers/line-combinations">Philadelphia Flyers</a> GM Daniel Briere to make a major trade to shake up the core of his roster. Well, on Thursday night, Briere delivered.&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/philadelphia-flyers-acquire-andrei-kuzmenko-jakob-pelletier-from-calgary-flames-for-joel-farabee-morgan-frost/">As Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli first reported,</a> the Flyers traded former first-round picks Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to the <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/">Calgary Flames</a>. In return, the Flyers received Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, Calgary’s 2025 second-round pick and a seventh-round pick in 2028. There was no retained salary in the deal.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Since taking the job on a full-time basis in May of 2023, Briere had one major trade on his resume: moving defenseman Ivan Provorov to the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/columbus-blue-jackets/line-combinations">Columbus Blue Jackets</a> for a package of assets. To his credit, that deal did lead to the Sean Walker trade for a first-round pick last year at the trade deadline from the<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/colorado-avalanche/line-combinations"> Colorado Avalanche</a>, along with moving out core piece Kevin Hayes 18 months ago at 50 percent salary retention.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="158"></div>



<p>But when you really analyzed the core of the Flyers’ roster from when Briere took over until now, it was largely similar. Sure, names like Bobby Brink and Tyson Foerster emerged as full time NHLers, but the usual suspects were there. In Briere’s defense, it wasn’t like he inherited a team riddled with older veterans; a lot of the players that were already there were younger pieces and part of the Flyers’ future. But something needed to happen – there needed to be a shakeup.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In the case of Frost, it seems like the writing has been on the wall for morethan 15 months for the 25-year-old. Over the course of three GMs and three head coaches, Frost never hit the ground running in the Flyers organization like many thought he would. Whether it be the pandemic, organizational dysfunction, not meshing with coaches or what have you, Frost never found his niche in Philadelphia and was in desperate need of a change of scenery.&nbsp;</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="164"></div>



<p>Frost is a nice middle-six center who can get you 40-50 points; he has 11 goals and 25 points in 49 contests this year. But whether it be not meshing with John Tortorella, struggling with confidence or being unable to string together consistency, Frost didn’t take a step this year that the center-depleted Flyers team desperately needed from him. He will get a much needed change of scenery in Calgary – a team that also desperately needs a boost down the middle.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As for Farabee, it truly has been a fall from grace. Locking in to a six-year, $30 million contract four years back under former Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher, Farabee was thought to be part of the core group of forwards moving forward. Farabee had enjoyed a good career in Philadelphia; he hit a career high last year in both goals (22) and points (50).</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="146"></div>



<p>But things took a negative downturn this season.&nbsp;On pace for fewer than 40 points, Farabee found himself buried on the Flyers’ depth chart and even a healthy scratch. Once thought to be one of the pillars of the future in Philadelphia, the 24-year-old quickly became an afterthought on a team filled with rising wingers. Plain and simple: Farabee lost his spot in the top six, and his $5 million AAV became a problem.&nbsp;</p>



<p>So what is the motive behind the deal for the Flyers? Simple: creating flexibility for the future.&nbsp;</p>



<p>You can break down this deal in two ways: Frost for the second-round selection and dumping the Farabee contract. That is, more or less, what went down here. Sure, the Flyers get a free look and Kuzmenko (who can help their power play and has history with Matvei Michkov) along with Pelletier (whom they have liked in the past), but both players arriving from Calgary were not the centerpieces in this deal by any stretch. Kuzmenko was brought in to make the money work in the short term, while Pelletier was a throw-in to even out the bodies going in each direction.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="192"></div>



<p>The main objective for the Flyers in this deal was moving off the Farabee contract – plain and simple. As much success as Farabee has had in the past, his value absolutely plummeted this season. I can tell you of at least one Western Conference team had significant interest in Farabee a few months back and subsequently backtracked significantly. According to one source, the Flames were the only team willing to take on the Farabee contract at full value. Moving off the final three years of the Farabee contract was crucial for the Flyers, especially with pending RFAs Noah Cates, Tyson Foerster and Cam York in need of new deals. Long term cap flexibility was the focal point of all this.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In the case of Frost, a second-round selection was more than any other team would offer. Frost and the Flyers needed a divorce – there’s nothing much else to this. The Flyers now have four second-round picks in the upcoming NHL Draft.&nbsp;</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="4" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="163"></div>



<p>So what comes next for the Flyers?</p>



<p>Well, I don’t think there is an imminent deal in the queue to pull the trigger on. As I wrote about earlier this week, the Flyers continue to have their ears to the ground for centers – which I imagine will only intensify with the departure of Frost – but there is nothing immediately in the works. If something pops up before the deadline, so be it, but this deal was executed with the future in mind.&nbsp;</p>



<p>All this to say, it is now clear that the Flyers’ sights are still set on the future. This trade does not free up a ton of money this season and arguably makes them a worse team on paper; anyone who thought Briere and company were gearing up to add pieces for a playoff push can now put that theory to bed. Adding another second round pick to an already loaded draft arsenal for this summer and freeing up money over the next three seasons was the motivation behind this deal.&nbsp;</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="5" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="175"></div>



<p>Farabee had been passed internally by the likes of Brink, Foerster and Michkov; Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett are going to be long term fixtures in the top six, as well. Frost, while not dealing with a ton of competition, was unable to seize a golden opportunity this season and cement himself as a legitimate top-six forward. Any way you cut it, neither player was part of the long term plan in Philadelphia and now have a great opportunity ahead in Calgary.</p>



<p>The return for the Flyers may not be super exciting, but the deal proves this team is still committed to the future. On the outside looking in of the playoff picture this season, it was time to pull the trigger on a move to shake up the core and strengthen the future.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="6" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="134"></div>



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