At the end of a wild evening at the Saddledome, having just added a pair of talented forwards in a rare mid-game trade, Calgary Flames general manager Craig Conroy was asked if he envisions Joel Farabee skating on the left or right wing.
Farabee has a left-handed curve on his stick, but the Flames are stacked on that one side of the ice.
“He just wants to play a lot,” Conroy replied. “I told him we’re going to do that for him.”
There’s no doubt about where the other new guy, Morgan Frost, will be lining up.
It’s hardly a secret that Conroy has been shopping for a centre, and he believes the 25-year-old Frost can address a couple of weaknesses — winning faceoffs and generating offence.
He’s successfully swiped 51.8 per cent of his draws so far this season. That is a few strokes better than any of Calgary’s other pivots.
While his point totals as an NHLer have been more secondary than staggering, including 11 goals and 14 assists in 49 games with the Flyers in 2024-25, many believe there will continue to be an uptick in those numbers. With his vision and playmaking abilities, he’ll certainly be in the mix for a power-play role.
Via text message to Postmedia, an Eastern Conference scout described Frost, who twice surpassed the 100-point mark during his junior days with the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds, as “a pace player, high skill, solid transporting pucks up ice.” The knock is that he’s “been a bit light/unwilling to engage in heavier, harder areas,” something that will be an emphasis for a Flames team wants to really wear down opponents with a relentless style .
That same pro scout characterized Farabee, who already has a pair of 20-goal campaigns on his resume and was spotted earlier this season chasing his now-teammate Martin Pospisil around the ice at the Saddledome, as “a good get” for Calgary. He added the 24-year-old “isn’t fast, but he is competitive and he can make plays in heavier traffic areas.”
He described both as players who could “use a new voice, one who communicates well.” That’s a hint that both might benefit from a boss who, you know, isn’t John Tortorella.
It’s believed part of the motivation for the Flyers was financial — a desire to unload Farabee’s contract, which extends through the end of the 2027-28 campaign and carries an annual cap-hit of US$5 million, and some uncertainty about what sort of raise Frost will seek this summer as a restricted free agent. He is currently earning US$2.1 million.
That, on the other hand, is part of the appeal for the Flames. These are not short-term rentals or 30-somethings who have already passed their best-before dates. You can add both of Thursday’s acquisitions to the blueprints for Scotia Place.
“I do think this fills a couple holes that I’ve been trying to find, maybe even since the draft last year,” Conroy said after sending Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier and a pair of picks — a second-rounder in 2025 and a seventh-round swing in 2028 — to the Flyers in exchange for Farabee and Frost. “And it hasn’t been easy. I walk around the city and it’s, ‘What are you doing?!? Is your phone not working?’ I understand that people like to chirp me when I’m walking around, but it’s just you don’t know when it’s gonna happen and when it’s the right time.
“(Thursday) felt like the right time. It think it worked out for both teams, and now we’re getting ready for Saturday night.”
Flames fans are just as excited for Saturday morning. Can somebody hurry up and tweet the lines?!?
Will Farabee find himself working alongside Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri, the spot Pelletier had occupied for the past week and change, or does this provide an opportunity to try Matt Coronato with those top guns?
Could Frost play setup man for Yegor Sharangovich, who has a wicked shot and should be able to use it more often as he’s shifted back to the wing?
Maybe Farabee and Pospisil could chase guys around together?
“I have an idea as to where I’d like to start them,” teased Huska, who was asked after Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks if he’d had even a second to start pondering potential forward combos.
“We have two players coming in that we’re very excited about, for different reasons. They bring different skill-sets to our team. So we’re looking forward to getting them here and getting them in the lineup right away. We’re all quite excited about this.”