Jonathan Huberdeau could have been speaking for every one of the Calgary Flames.
At the tail-end of what was a chaotic and emotional evening at the Saddledome, Huberdeau logged on to Instagram to share a farewell to Jakob Pelletier, a buzzsaw forward and beloved teammate who had been traded away just hours earlier.
The Flames shipped Pelletier, Andrei Kuzmenko and a pair of future draft picks to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for centre Morgan Frost and left winger Joel Farabee.
“I wish you the best Son,” Huberdeau wrote on Instagram, sharing a thank you post to Pelletier from the Flames’ team account. “I’ll miss that big smile.”
It’s rare to spot the 23-year-old Pelletier without a big grin on his face, but he instead had tears in his eyes after learning midway through Thursday’s home game against the Anaheim Ducks that he had been traded.
Pelletier started the evening alongside Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri on the Flames’ top line.
He was pulled at the first intermission, informed of his change-of-address.
Kuzmenko, 28, was a late scratch against the Ducks. During a late-night press conference, Flames general manager Craig Conroy mentioned that the six-piece swap “started maybe as a one-for-one player type of deal and then it grew a little bit more.”
Word is, the Flyers are really keen on Pelletier, who has recorded eight goals and 21 points in 61 big-league appearances to date.
The Flames, meanwhile, believe Frost and Farabee can fill important roles — both now and in the future. Frost is a 25-year-old pivot with strong playmaking skills and the 24-year-old Farabee provides some scoring touch and sandpaper on the wing.
“It’s never easy watching guys you form bonds with leave the dressing room,” Kadri told the media after Thursday’s 4-1 victory over the Ducks. “It’s hard as a veteran guy to watch a young player who has become fond of this city and fond of the guys and is really starting to cement his way into having a professional career have to leave so abruptly. It sucks. I wish them all the best, of course.”
The plan is that Frost and Farabee both will be in the Flames’ lineup for Saturday’s showdown with the Detroit Red Wings at the Saddledome.
Frost had registered 11 goals and 14 assists in 49 games with the Flyers this season, while also winning 51.8% of his faceoffs.
Farabee’s stat-sheet for 2024-25 shows eight goals and 19 points in 50 outings.