We thought we were done with this, but one Philadelphia Flyer’s name will just not escape the trade rumor mill.
In the latest list of trade targets by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, which featured 25 players who could be moved this upcoming summer, Flyers center Morgan Frost had his name once again written down. Even after finishing off his season fairly well and going from someone that was clearly someone the coaching staff did not fully trust, to being one of the team’s top centers; the rumors of a move out of Philadelphia has remained persistent.
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. Or if Frost’s style of game will mesh with what Tortorella is looking for on a nightly basis. 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.
Frank Seravalli, Daily Faceoff
That is really the question. Frost is one of the team’s only remaining true centers at the NHL level, so is John Tortorella’s newfound trust during the latter half of the season mean that he actually wants to keep the player around, or is it strictly out of necessity?
The 25-year-old has one more year on his quasi bridge deal that carries a $2.1-million AAV and he will remain a restricted free agent during the summer of 2025 but will also have arbitration rights that could see him walk right to free agency the following offseason, in 2026. With that context, it really does seem like the Flyers will need to make a decision in the next year or so if they want to commit to Frost.
Frost’s name has been put down as a player the team could trade, seemingly for a few years now. Whether it was a stylistic fit or him just not being able to produce — the latter he eventually shrugged off as now has back-to-back seasons with a decent rate of point production — Frost was seen as a player the Flyers could eventually move for someone they just prefer more as an overall player, whether it was a more physical forward or a defenseman they sorely needed.
Could Frost still be traded this summer? Certainly. It feels like the Flyers are facing a heck of a lot of questions and asking even more internally, to really determine the path they can take back to eventual playoff contention. For instance, if they want to spend some assets to get a young center with top-six potential, who they like more stylistically than Frost, would it make sense to re-coup some of those picks and/or prospects by moving the 25-year-old center? But then, would they run into the same depth issue with just having a semi-broken Sean Couturier, Noah Cates, and Ryan Poehling as the only other NHL centers, if they also trade Scott Laughton?
There are so many moving parts for the Flyers this summer but one thing has remained consistent: Morgan Frost being involved in trade rumors.
