NHL Trade Talk
Flyers Center Named Top NHL Trade Target
Sometimes, having a career-best season won’t clear your name from NHL trade rumors. And in some cases, that might make the trade rumors even worse. That seems to be the case for Philadelphia Flyers forward Morgan Frost, who has once again been pegged as a top NHL trade target.
NHL insider Frank Seravalli revealed a list of his top-25 trade targets on the market on Friday, and it was headlined by the usual suspects, such as Mitchell Marner, Martin Necas, Linus Ullmark, Jacob Markstrom, and others. Towards the bottom of Seravalli’s list were some younger, buy-low trade targets, including Frost, who checked in at No. 17.
Said Seravalli, “After a rocky year that saw Frost sit as a healthy scratch for a chunk of time, it sure ended well. Frost closed the campaign with 30 points in 44 games in the 2024 calendar year. One thing that doesn’t appear to be changing: John Tortorella as Flyers coach. While some pushback from Frost seemed to do him well in Tortorella’s books, it’s not entirely clear whether they’ll ever see eye-to-eye.”
Another critical piece of information is the fact that Frost, only recently turning 25 years old, was benched by Tortorella for nearly two full periods of the Flyers’ final game of the season. Recall that the Flyers were facing the Washington Capitals in a Game 82 that was ‘win-or-go-home’, and the playoff circumstances forced Tortorella to pull rookie goalie Sam Ersson for an extra attacker in a tied game because a regulation win was required.
In a game where the Flyers desperately needed goals and offense to break the tie and win in regulation, Frost played only 8:02. Bobby Brink and Cam Atkinson, who were also benched, were the only Flyers who played less in that game.
Seravalli concluded his addition of Frost by remarking that “The Flyers see plenty of upside on Frost and wouldn’t hesitate to keep him. They’re also interested in anything creative thrown their way, so they’d be open to moving Frost and Joel Farabee and others in the right deal. But there hasn’t been much action on that front yet.”
“Yet” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.
Note that the 2024 NHL Draft is just under two weeks away, and once we get closer to the draft, we’ll have a better indication of where things are headed for both Frost and the Flyers.
Frost finished the 2023-24 season with 13 goals, a career-high 28 assists, and 41 points in 71 games after scoring 19 goals, 27 assists, and 46 points in 81 games in 2022-23. Frost’s 0.577 points per game in 2023-24 was slightly higher than the 0.567 points per game he averaged in 2022-23; he has one year remaining on his contract at a $2.1 million cap hit and will become a restricted free agent in 2025.
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I will lose faith in the Flyers management if they trade Frost (and/or Farabee) for 1) anything other than a proven top tier player, or 2) to move up towards the top of the draft and select a player who can play for the team NOW.
I’ll accept the team tanking its playoff chances at the trade deadline this past year, but the Flyers are closer than management would like us to believe. They should have made the playoffs this year, and we should accept (and expect) nothing but improvement going forward.
Yes, getting the fan base to buy into a lengthy rebuild takes pressure off of the GM (and team president), and gives them some additional job security. But it doesn’t build a winner. If there’s anything to learn from the Panther’s recent success it’s that there’s more than one way to build a contending team and it doesn’t have to take forever.
So I don’t need trades for more picks if those draft picks are only going to play in the junior/minor league systems forever. And I don’t need more foreign players who won’t be available until years after they’re drafted.
We need to get better now and every year going forward. If the current management team isn’t capable of making that happen, we need to find that out sooner rather than later.
Panthers did two major trades…July ’21 for Reinhart….and July ’22 for Tkachuk….together, those two alone, accounted for 31% of the Panther’s goals this season….I dare say, without those two trades, the Panthers would not be where they are now. It took Zito guts to make those trades.
A top tier player for a 40-50 point forward? Good luck.
Greg – The article also mentioned the possibility of moving both Frost AND Farabee. Both are young and still have an upside that hasn’t been reached, so I could see a team being interested in a package that would move both.
But if they cant get someone for Frost and/or Farabee that’s going to make the team better – NOW – then don’t do a deal.
My point is that I don’t think we need more picks and more prospects. That only keeps us stuck where we are. We need players who can contribute now.
Willing to bet the Maple Leafs would listen to a Frost deal of some nature…he is cheap, a play-making center and a local kid with team ties….Dad, Andy Frost, was their public address announcer from the opening of Scotiabank Arena in 1999 to 2016.
I don’t see any problem with seeking any return on Frost. It might be time for the Flyers to seek some return on him while letting other teams take a chance on his future performance. Landing a more consistent 2 way center in his place, even if less talented, may prove to be a better asset, while gaining any value from a Frost trade.
I agree with all these comments. I’ve never been sold on Frost. He shows flashes but has not reached the level hoped for. At 25, and one year left on his contract, I would give him this season to show us otherwise. If he’s meandering at a 40-point pace or so, deal him at the deadline. However, as mentioned in the comments, if a good return is offered now then, move him. Same for Farabee, who has slipped since his buddy Hayes was traded. As Mike S said, trying to build through draft picks alone will not be sufficient, because their development is too uncertain. Trading for established talent is necessary.
I’m not against trading him but I never saw him as anything more than a 2nd line center, perhaps less. 40ish points is pretty much what I expect from him.
I don’t see anyone on this team as untouchable, and I wouldn’t be devastated to see anyone, including Frost, Farabee, or even TK, for the right return. That being said, the return has to be RIGHT. In my eyes the discussion *starts* at a 1st and a ready-to-play young talent for any of those top players on the roster. And since I don’t think any team would offer that, I’m fine with keeping them too.