The big trade came just hours after another notable piece of Calgary Flames news. What has been a position of weakness may become a big strength in the coming weeks with Connor Zary close to a return to the ice.

Zary is inching toward lacing up the skates again — although the next phase of the 23-year-old's rehab will certainly move slowly and safely initially — and will have another solid middle-six center to compete with when he's back. The Flames added pivot Morgan Frost along with winger Joel Farabee in Thursday's surprising deal that sent the affable Jakob Pelletier and pending UFA Andrei Kuzmenko to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Related: Flames Complete Four-Player Trade With Flyers

With 10 goals and 22 points in 40 games this season, Zary's dynamic (albeit a bit inconsistent) offensive skillset has been missed since the knee-on-knee collision a few weeks back.

There is still no timeline for Zary's return but there was a positive update from Flames head coach Ryan Huska Thursday afternoon.

“We're hopeful that he'll be back on the ice in a very limited way over the next week or so," Huska told Flames writers after the morning skate. "He's still got a ways to go, don't get me wrong, but he's doing really well with his rehab, so we're pretty excited about that.”

Zary has been out since Jan. 7 after suffering a knee injury in Anaheim. The Flames won that game 3-2 in overtime and also claimed the rematch 4-1 on Thursday at the Saddledome.

The team has gone 6-4-0 without Zary in the lineup. With a two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off coming after another handful of games, the arrival of the newcomers and return of Zary after the lengthy pause will certainly give the Calgary Flames some options up front.

Given their lack of goal-scoring so far this season, the boost would be welcome.