
Several Angles to Flyers Latest Roster Shakeup
Danny Briere’s first move as Flyers GM was a bold one, a creative one. It was a trade that was out with the old, in with the temporary, and put an emphasis on the future.
That would be the Ivan Provorov trade, a three-team deal that saw the Flyers acquire Cal Petersen, Sean Walker, Helge Grans, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 second-round pick, and a conditional second-round pick. The Flyers still have Petersen on the books for the remainder of the season, and Grans made his NHL debut earlier this season. But they also flipped Walker for a 2025 first-round pick, used the 2023 first-round pick to select Oliver Bonk, and have the conditional second-round pick in their pocket for the 2025 NHL Draft.
In the months that followed, it felt more and more like Briere was playing the waiting game a little too long. There were constant rumors for familiar names, but really no activity – hold for the unexpected like trading Cutter Gauthier for Jamie Drysdale last January.
But on Thursday night, and into the midnight hour of Friday, Briere was working on his latest move, one that shakes up the makeup of the Flyers roster mid-season. Gone are both Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee, two former first-round picks that just never quite amounted to the fullest. In are Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, and two more draft picks, including a 2025 second-round pick.
In the immediate, the Flyers get two players that will be placed on the active roster from the start. Kuzmenko joins as a mentor for Matvei Michkov, a fellow Russian who can be a guide on the bench and help out with some offensive instincts. He’s an unrestricted free agent after this season, so his time as a Flyer may only be a matter of months.
As for Pelletier, he’s an intriguing 23-year-old winger who gets a chance to emerge as a future piece in the lineup. He is another small winger, just 5’9”, but had two 30-goal and 80-point seasons in the QMJHL and had 27 goals and 62 points in 66 games in his first AHL season. The potential is there, and Pelletier is of an age that the Flyers can explore what’s there. Pelletier is an RFA after this season.
But the more important angle of the trade is the further need for the Flyers future moves to be the most impactful. The addition of a 2025 second-round pick from Calgary now gives the Flyers four second-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft, and seven picks in the first two rounds. The Flyers could certainly make all seven selections, but this stocking up on draft capital feels like a set-up for something more.
There is also a strategic play in cap space within this trade. Kuzmenko and Farabee were a nearly even cap move. Farabee has a $5 million AAV. Kuzmenko has a $5.5 million AAV. But Farabee is also under contract for three more seasons beyond 2024-25. That is now off the books, and should they choose not to retain Kuzmenko beyond this season, they add $5.5 million in cap space.
Frost also had a cap hit of $2.1 million compared to Pelletier’s $800,000, which helps the Flyers off-set the current money to make the deal work within the cap presently.
On the surface, this may not be the most overwhelming return for two active roster players and former first-round picks. But that was also the inconsistency of Frost and Farabee over the years, the potential always there, but the results not coming with the desired frequency. It turns into a situation where a change of scenery could be best for both players.
There’s also a risk to a deal like this that Briere and company will face. This is not your typical no-brainer of a deadline move for a seller. This isn’t moving a contract that will ultimately be a rental. This is moving two former first-round picks at 25 in Frost’s case and 24 in Farabee’s case that should be entering the prime of their careers and a key part of the finished product of a rebuild. And there’s always the possibility that both players go on to bigger things in a new location.
Which is why, from the Flyers perspective, it becomes more important to stay the course on building for the future while making all the right decisions in a critical offseason to come.
They have even more draft capital now than they did before. They can also have more cap space than previously anticipated when the offseason arrives. What they ultimately do with both will define how successful this trade becomes.
Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.
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