Hockey fans love their sport for a number of different reasons and to quote Bernie Parent “that’s a beautiful thing”. Because hockey is a complex multifaceted sport with a unique fanbase not everyone is going to agree on what they love about it most. A perfect example of this divide would be the varied reactions of Flyers Fans to the Joel Farabee Morgan Frost trade.
The Casual Observer
Some people “kind of” follow hockey because it is one of the city’s “big four” and they are loyal to their home town. That’s fine. These folks probably have a Flyers t-shirt in a drawer upstairs somewhere just in case the bandwagon is showing up any time soon.
They might tune-in to a few playoff games. They’ll keep asking why the dude keeps blowing the whistle no matter how many times you try to explain what “offsides” is. Their initial reaction to breaking trade news was most likely …”who”? And that’s all well and fine. Welcome aboard, the more the merrier, see you in a couple years. Those folks are definitely not reading this so we are going to blow right by them for now.
The Business Minded
Some people are all business. Business, stats, and analytics. They want results. Big results and everything else is incidental. They lead with their head and not with their heart. You would think the lack of emotional attachment would make them less miserable about things, but you’d be wrong. From the cut and dry business perspective this trade makes sense, right?
The Flyers are a rebuilding team which had to start saving up before it could even begin to start the renovations. The previous management did not leave “the New Era of Orange” a whole lot to work with. The coffers were all but empty. The capital had been spent on building a long term mediocre product. The organization was out of cap space, short on picks, and burdened with a slew of expensive extended contracts.
This trade is yet another step in digging out of that hole while banking assets to invest in a future. This coming draft is key to the future of the organization. This trade is part of the lead up.
- Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost are traded to Calgary for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, a 2025 2nd round pick, and a 7th round pick in 2028.
- Farabee does not become a UFA until 2028-29 the Flyers are now free of that contract. Kuzmenko becomes a UFA at the end of this current season. Pelletier also becomes an RFA this year.
- Frost will become an RFA at the end of this current season which would have required a new contract.
- The NHL maximum cap is scheduled to be raised for the 2025-26 season from the current 88M to 95.5M.
- In the upcoming 2025 NHL draft the Flyers will now have: 3 picks in the 1st round, 4 in the 2nd, 1 in the 3rd, 1 in the 4th, 2 in the 5th, and 1 in both the 6th and 7th.
This trade should not be looked at as a swap of talent and judged by who made out better. This is a stepping stone trade for the organization freeing up cap space and collecting more assets. If it works out for Kuzmenko and/or Pelletier here in Philly that would be an upside. But if it doesn’t the Flyers are free to walk away from them at the end of this season.
The business minded fan should be happy with this trade.
The Die Hard
The Die Hard Flyers Fan often leads with their heart. They live and die with the team, bleed orange and black, and get very attached to the players. They tend to root for the underdogs, the “locker room guys”, the players that are giving their all just to keep their head above water. To some die hard fans this trade is devastating. And for good reason.
Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost are both class guys who bought a lot to the hockey community here in Philly. Always there for the fans, and the charities, and their teammates. Loyal, hard working, down to earth dudes who took their criticism on the chin and did their best to work through it. There’s a lot to be said for all of that “intangible” stuff. It’s what gives a team personality and an identity. The intangibles are what keeps a locker room glued together and a fanbase bonded to their team in good times and in bad.
You got little kids, who are a key part of every team’s fanbase, that can’t even look at their #86 or #48 jersey right now. But that is yet another important life lesson as much as it stings at the time.
The die hard Flyers Fan is probably not super stoked about the trade..at least not for now.
Best possible outcome
Every flavor of Flyers Fan needs to watch this all play out at the business level first and foremost. We all want the same thing in the end. Everyone has been living the shared frustration of having champagne taste on a beer budget. This had to be a period of austerity, all the credit cards were maxed out so to speak.
Now that the draft is stockpiled and the cap space has a bit of breathing room the clock starts ticking. The Flyers are obviously not looking for any short term solutions at the trade deadline but other teams will be. The Flyers need to spend their collateral wisely and the things that this team needs ain’t cheap.
Everyone knows the Flyers need a 1st line center with a ton of talent. That’s going to cost a fortune which may lead to more pain for the faithful in the short run. The business guys need to make the tough decisions now to build a winning future. You gotta break some eggs.
The die hards will eventually bond with the new players and there will always be 4th line underdogs to root for. Then, hopefully at some point we might actually get to see the bandwagon folks again as well. Everybody wins!
One more thing
It takes a very unusual level of talent and dedication to make it to the NHL and stick there. Your loud mouth neighbor who is the envy of his recreational league would be absolutely humiliated by the guys who don’t even make it past development camp in the NHL. We’ve all become accustomed to watching the super elite play against each other and judging their skill level in that context. Nobody makes it to the NHL by accident. It takes talent and a lifetime of dedication and hard work.
Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost are both great hockey players. They’ve been great to the hockey community here in Philly. They’ve been good role models for our young people who look up to them. They deserve our respect, gratitude, and well wishes. Hopefully they both find the spot where they are the right guy, in the right place, at the right time.
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