Philadelphia Flyers center Morgan Frost has been a healthy scratch for four of the last five games. Is it time for the Flyers to move on from the former 1st round pick?
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Frost was healthy scratched for the first time this season against the San Jose Sharks last Monday and replaced by Matvei Michkov, who was coming off a two-game healthy scratch.
While Frost did return to the lineup the following game against the Ottawa Senators, it was for just one game. Replacing the injured Sean Couturier. He played just 13:44 – the lowest ice time of the four centers dressed.
Through 16 games, the 25-year-old center has just 1 goal and 5 assists. His average ice time, 15:19, is the lowest in three years. His ice time has been trending downward over the past three seasons under head coach John Tortorella – down 31 seconds from last season and 62 seconds from the previous year.
Frost’s development under Tortorella has been rough at times and being a healthy scratch is nothing new to him.
Last season, he was a healthy scratch nine times. Seven of which came in a span of thirteen games. An in-person meeting, that Frost asked for, cleared the air and turned his season around.
“He came to me for a meeting… That’s a huge step for me with Frosty, him coming in and saying, ‘You know what, this is what I think,” John Tortorella told reporters last season about Frost asking for a meeting. “It’s so important that players do that. It creates a bit of a path for him and I as we try to go through this.”
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This year, however, that same type of meeting isn’t going to help with the situation.
In his third season playing for John Tortorella, his head coach is trying a new approach — an approach that is only fair to him as a player.
“I cannot continue to go through the same process with Morgan that I’ve done for two years,” Tortorella told reporters on how this year is different with Frost. “It’s not fair to him. It would be stupid to coach that way because we’ve done that.”
Tortorella added, “he’s going to have to take some onus on himself here when he gets an opportunity to make it stick because we certainly need help in that position.”
With his time in the press box starting to add up, is this the beginning of the end for his time in Philadelphia?
According to a source with knowledge of Frost’s thinking, it’s still too early to tell if this is the last straw in the hat of his future in Philadelphia. Mentioning there is still a path forward for him with the Flyers.
The source added, “Morgan is going to battle through this challenging time. He’s too good of a player.”
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Even though there is still the possibility of a future for him in Philadelphia, it has not stopped some speculation from arising — one that could lead to a trade out of Philadelphia this season.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman speculated in his latest 32-Thoughts piece of a potential trade to the Chicago Blackhawks. A move that would make sense for Chicago because they are “in dire need of centers“. The funny thing is… so are the Flyers.
The Blackhawks have seven second-round draft picks over the next three drafts. Two in 2024, three in 2025, and two in 2026.
If a deal were to materialize between the Flyers and Blackhawks, a second-round pick would be the ideal starting point in a potential deal. The same value equivalent to Frost’s upcoming RFA tender this offseason.
A second-round pick plus another mid-round pick would decent value for the former 1st round pick in 2017. Netting the Flyers even more draft capital to add to their already draft pick stock pile.
PHOTO CREDIT: Eric Hartline – USA TODAY Sports
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