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Danny Brière addresses some of the biggest questions regarding the Flyers’ trade with Flames

The general manager is planning for the future and believes this will give them more cap flexibility. Although, he said, “it was a really tough trade.”

General manager Danny Brière is planning for the future and believes the trade deal with the Flames was a step in that direction.
General manager Danny Brière is planning for the future and believes the trade deal with the Flames was a step in that direction.Read moreJose F. Moreno/ Staff Photographer

Two days ago, the Flyers made one of their biggest trades of the Danny Brière era.

The Flyers acquired wingers Jakob Pelletier and Andrei Kuzmenko, a second-round pick in 2025, and a seventh-rounder in 2028 from the Calgary Flames for Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost. The shake-up comes 34 days before the March 7 trade deadline.

Due to a preplanned scouting trip in advance of the Flyers’ two-game trip to Denver and Salt Lake City, it took some time but the general manager spoke to the media on Saturday about the swap. Here are five questions he answered:

What was key to the trade?

Although the Flyers received two players and two picks, the critical component was cap flexibility. And with the salary cap rising in each of the next few years, including going from $88 million to $95.5 million in 2025-26, the Flyers have even more to play with this summer and beyond.

Coming off the books is Farabee’s hefty $5 million annual cap hit through 2027-28. According to PuckPedia, Frost, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, was due a minimum qualifying offer of $2.4 million.

On the books comes Kuzmenko’s $5.5 million and Pelletier’s $800,000. But Kuzmenko will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and should not be making that much. Pelletier will be a restricted free agent with a minimum required qualifying offer of $840,000.

Much cheaper.

According to Brière, Calgary was willing to take Farabee’s full salary. Other teams were not.

“It was a really tough trade to make, but we feel for the future, the cap flexibility that it brings us, gives us the chance to do something,” Brière said. “I don’t know how soon. It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen in the next few weeks or months, but moving forward, for years to come, it just gives us more cap flexibility.”

Does the cap flexibility accelerate the timeline?

The Flyers have been adamant that the rebuild will be slow and steady with a heavy gaze on the summer of 2026. It did accelerate slightly when Matvei Michkov arrived two years early, and again now with more cap space and loads of draft capital; the Flyers have 13 total picks with three in the first round and two in the second this June.

“It gives us some possibilities going into the offseason. It’s like cracking the door open a little bit, [but] I wouldn’t say that it’s wide-open. I’m not saying that this will be the year. ... Time will tell,” Brière said.

“We’re not going to just start spending money just for the fun of it. We want to make sure that we get the right players when we decide to open up the checkbooks.”

» READ MORE: Flyers say goodbye to Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost after trade: ‘It’s the worst part of the game’

Is there still a focus on getting a center?

The Flyers are thin down the middle — and even skinnier after trading Frost. Brière said that while he would have liked to have added a pivot, “in this case, it just did not come through.”

Not ideal considering how much the team is screaming for not just center depth but high-end talent there.

“We felt the value that we could get at this point was more than anywhere else,” he said about the swap with fellow first-time general manager Craig Conroy.

So could a deal to get a center be on the horizon?

Brière didn’t exactly answer the second part of the question about plans to acquire a center in the future. But it is readily apparent that the Flyers have made space and have the draft capital to get something done. There are teams without a first-rounder — i.e., last season’s trade partner, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Florida Panthers, who do not have any picks in the first three rounds — who could be interested in moving up in a draft that isn’t considered deep.

Does this weaken the current roster and culture in the room?

The Flyers general manager is still focused on down the road.

“It’s not giving up on the season,” Brière said. “Really, this was a move for the future not so much about this year.”

The crystal ball says the rest of the way could be bumpy. More than likely there will be more subtractions — and possible additions — that coach John Tortorella recently alluded to.

The biggest concern should be the room. NHL fans recently have seen how issues inside the locker room can permeate onto the ice. The Orange and Black had some before coach John Tortorella, and then Brière, came on board. Farabee and Frost were key to the culture shift, making it a place veterans like Erik Johnson called one of the best.

» READ MORE: Trade grades: Evaluating the Flyers’ decision to move on from Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee and what they recouped in return

“If that trade was made two years ago, maybe a little bit more scary just not knowing where our room was,” Brière said. “Don’t get me wrong — Joel and Morgan were a big part of that room and how tight it was, and they’re going to be missed — but I believe that the leadership now in place and how these guys have jelled together, they’re going to welcome the two new guys with open arms.

“And from what we’re hearing is that both those guys coming in have a great personality, and will fit right into what we have built in the last couple of years here.”

What are the expectations for Pelletier and Kuzmenko?

Reading between the lines, it sounds like Pelletier’s run in Philly will be much longer than Michkov’s former teammate, Kuzmenko.

“[Kuzmenko’s] been a very good offensive player as he has shown in the past. He can score [and] hopefully he can help our power play. There’s no guarantee of that, but we want to take a look at him,” the GM said, adding that the Flyers were going to take a look at him during the summer anyway.

Neither player is expected to be in the lineup for Sunday’s matinee against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver (3 p.m., NBCSP+). The hope is their visas can be completed in time for the Flyers’ first-ever game in Salt Lake City against the Utah Hockey Club (Tuesday, 9 p.m., NBCSP).

While Brière said Kuzmenko could be a game-breaker, which Tortorella recently stressed again they need, he is excited to see what fellow Quebec native Pelletier can do.

» READ MORE: The Flyers keep telling you they are rebuilding. Their latest trade is another sign to believe them.

The 2019 first-round pick has not had the chance to crack the Flames lineup but has put up big numbers in juniors and the American Hockey League. As a source mentioned to The Inquirer after the trade, the hope is that the Flyers can unlock his potential.

“We’re hoping that a fresh start for him gets him going,” Brière said. “We like the motor. We like his energy, his spunk. He also has some offense in his background, so we’ll see what he can do. So, we’re excited about him, and he’s only 23 years old.”