Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier, the two forwards the Philadelphia Flyers acquired (along with two draft picks) in the trade that sent Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to Calgary, won’t play Thursday night in Philadelphia.
According to head coach John Tortorella, Kuzmenko’s paperwork “is done” but the duo are stuck north of the order. Unfortunately, a flight that was slated to fly them from Toronto where they’re currently at to Philadelphia was cancelled due to poor weather conditions. Ideally, both players should be in the lineup against Pittsburgh before the team breaks for the 4 Nations Face-off tournament next week. If the new forwards do not get on the ice Saturday, we won’t see them wearing the Orange and Black until the Flyers return from the break and host the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 22.
Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier are unavailable tonight.
— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) February 6, 2025
Paperwork is done for Kuzmenko, but flight got canceled from Toronto because of the weather, John Tortorella said.
Flyers are hoping to have them Saturday.
The fact these players aren’t in the lineup usually wouldn’t be a problem. However, with the two outgoing forwards, plus injuries to Owen Tippett and Ryan Poehling, the lineup is fairly scarce on NHL-caliber skaters. It’s doubtful either or both Tippett or Poehling are ready to go on Saturday night, so at least Philadelphia should have Kuzmenko and Pelletier dressed. Whether that means one, two or all three of Anthony Richard, Rodrigo Abols (who got his first NHL goal against Utah on Tuesday night), and Jacob Gaucher will be reassigned remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Farabee scored his first goal with Calgary Tuesday night against Toronto. In three games the lone goal is his only point and he’s a minus-3 so far with the Flames. His first game saw him with 18:01 time on ice but that dipped to 15:32 for the Toronto contest. As for Frost, he scored his first goal for Calgary against Seattle on Sunday night and has no assists. He’s averaging just over 17 minutes of time on ice for Calgary through the three games. The Flames will visit the Flyers for a game on March 4, marking the first time the traded players have faced their old teammates.
