The NHL trade deadline has passed. Boy, this year was a doozy. Quite a few teams bulked up, big time, for a deep playoff run. Florida, already a tough team, went wheeling and dealing. Carolina, always a tough team, flipped Marty Necas a month ago for Mikko Rantanen and then flipped Rantanen for a top young prospect and two first-rounders from Dallas. I hope the Stars don't like first-round picks since they have none until 2028.
After months, if not years, of speculation, the Flyers made some moves. This is better than two years ago when former GM Chuck Fletcher, in full sell-off mode, did nothing. It's also more than last year when Sean Walker was flipped for a first round pick. Some of these trades are painful. But hey, if you think it's gonna be weird to see Scott Laughton in Toronto blue, imagine being a Boston fan and seeing Brad Marchand in a Panthers uniform.
The difficulty with evaluating these trades is that we won't be able to see the fruits, if any, for another three to five years. It's not like the Claude Giroux trade, where we got Owen Tippett and a first-round pick, and saw Tippett flourish almost immediately. We're still waiting to see about that first-round pick since it was flipped to the Edmonton Oilers last year for this year's pick.
With that said, let's see what Briere brought to Philly. Were these trades worth it or were they flops?
The Frost and Farabee Trade
We looked at this trade previously, but six weeks later, it's worth going back and evaluating. Now again, it is six weeks later, but two of those weeks were occupied by the Four Nations Tournament, which eliminated about five or six games from the schedule that normally would've been played.
Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee have continued their non-offensive output in Calgary. Those guys seem to have a lot of potential. They flash moments of being great stars, but they never fully unlock it. At most, they will become decent second or third line role players. It's a shame because, being first round picks themselves, you would've expected more from them.
While Laughton was never an offensive juggernaut, he was valuable in other ways. These two never found their niche role. If they have anything going for them, they are still young and someone could "fix them". It could be that they just got used to playing mediocre for so long, that they'll stay that way. That's a culture thing that Briere and Keith Jones are trying to fix.
In return, the Flyers got a second round pick this year and a seventh round pick in 2028. The reason it is only a second rounder is because Calgary was kind enough to take on their full salaries. The Flyers also got an intriguing prospect in Jakob Pelletier. Pelletier is a potential Tippett. I saw that because Tippett could never eke out a role in Florida, bounced back and forth between the AHL and NHL and third and fourth lines in Miami. He comes here and blossoms.
Pelletier hasn't had much of a chance to blossom here. He's appeared in just six games due to visa issues and has notched just one assist. With some roster openings, you might see him make an appearance somewhere on the top three lines. After all, we need to see what we got in him. For right now, he's Calgary's version of Frost...a top prospect that needed a change of scenery. However, he just celebrated his 24th birthday on trade deadline day, so he still has a future.
The Flyers also acquired Andrei Kuzmenko, which leads us to.....
The Kuzmenko Trade
He, like Pelletier, had some visa issues and played in just seven games. He made those seven games count. He scored two goals with three assists. Since he was a free agent at the end of the season, the Flyers could've kept him and taken their chances or flipped him. Instead, they flipped him.
Briere gave up a fifth round pick this year for a 2027 third round pick to make the deal happen. That's not a terrible deal and starts racking up picks in the future, where we might need them. The beauty is, if Kuzmenko enjoyed his time here, and if the team liked him, he can always re-sign with them come July. As of right now, I'd be ok with that.
The Johnson Trade
This wasn't about improving the team. This was a "thank you" to a man who selflessly served this team as a mentor to Philly's younger players. The old vet re-signed this offseason on a one-year deal. He played in just 22 games, which should make him well rested for the Avalanche come this playoff run. In the meantime, he worked to help improve the games of young guys like Egor Zamula and Cam York while protecting Matvei Michkov when others decided to get too rough with him.
In return, the Flyers got Givani Smith, a player that Johnson fought when Smith got a little too physical with Michkov. Smith is a big physical guy who's bounced around the NHL and AHL levels. It's possible that the Flyers, always accustomed to bruisers, may hang onto the 27-year-old, but he doesn't add much more than that. He's racked up nine goals in six years. Again, this trade was made to give Johnson one last run at the Cup with the team he won it previously with. Which brings us to...
The Laughton Trade
Again, this will take years before we truly see if this one panned out or not. Along with Laughton went a fourth and sixth round pick. The first round pick we got in return, we won't see until 2027. The gem of this deal, hopefully, will be Nikita Grebenkin. Apparently, the Flyers tried to wriggle highly regarded prospect Fraser Minten away from them, but the Leafs wouldn't trade him with a draft pick or even straight up. So, it's Grebenkin we got.
Looking at his scouting report, Grebenkin was a fifth round pick in 2022 who has flourished in the KHL. Last season, playing for Magnitogorsk Metallurg, he scored 19 goals with 22 assists, while he scored nine goals in 39 games with the Marlies this year in the AHL. He is well regarded for his combo of speed and size as well as decision making skills. The knock on him is his consistency. However, for a guy who will turn 22 in May, that's something that could be worked out in time. And again, it gives Michkov another Russian to pal around with.
Final Analysis
If you are looking for something to hang your hat on with these trades this season, you will be very disappointed. These trades, if they pay off, will bear their fruits in 2027 or 2028. They also have shed the Flyers of a lot of salary. The Flyers may be trying to get ready to sign a big-name free agent or two. As of right now, they will have about $25.5 million free to sign and extend players next year. That's more money than they've had in years.
Also, when you look at the draft picks they will have in the next three drafts, they are loaded at the top.
1st Rd | 2nd Rd | 3rd Rd | 4th Rd | 5th Rd | 6th Rd | 7th Rd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2025 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
2026 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
2027 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
If these picks work out and are selected wisely, the Flyers could have a bright future. If they are selected like many of the picks in the 2010s, then we are further consigned to mediocrity.
As for the trades, time will tell. Hopefully Pelletier and Grebenkin become future stars in Philly. That would help. Maybe the money saved will bring a major free agent to Philly. That'd be nice. It's been a while for that. For now, we'll just have to wait and see and trust Briere and Co. on their moves.