The Third Line Center Conundrum

PHOTO COURTESY OF LYNNE SLADKY/AP

Dating back to several seasons ago one question mark that has continued to plague the Philadelphia Flyers and the make-up of the team’s roster has been the third line center position. Another off-season is upon us and once again an inquiry that remains from previous off-seasons is still relevant. What are the Flyers going to do regarding their third line center position and who are the potential candidates that may have success filling such a role? There has been an abundance of uncertainty surrounding this position for the Flyers for seasons on end and it should be interesting to see if some of the team’s internal candidates will be able to successfully fill the duty. 

Potential Candidates:

In terms of the internal candidates within the Flyers organization that could theoretically solve this third line center conundrum the team does have an array of options it could plausibly consider. Assumptions have been made by many in the fan base, as well as, reporters covering the team that the Flyers seem to be gearing up to give promising prospect Morgan Frost every opportunity to seize this position in training camp this September. Frost will certainly have as much of a chance as anyone else on the training camp roster to solidify himself in this position but with a prospect like Frost being put into such a critical role to the Flyers success for next season there is no telling how the player will handle the pressures of third line center and if he will be successful. An important aspect to note about Frost and his ability to take on a role so crucial to the team is the fact that the player has not participated in actual games in quite a while. The 2019-2020 season being stopped due to covid played a factor in this however, Frost is also coming off of a dislocated left shoulder injury he suffered on January 19th, 2021 that caused him to miss the entirety of the 2020-2021 season. As a result, the player has not played any meaningful hockey games in essentially two years and throwing him into a role that is conducive to the Flyers attaining their goals of being a top team in the NHL may not be a recipe for success. Despite this outlook, Frost has had a ton of time to rehab his injury, has a full off-season to train and a full training camp ahead of him to ready him for this position. Not to mention the great skills the young center possesses. Frost is a player who relies on his speed, great passing, hockey sense, and his deking ability to be a successful and contributing factor to a team. There is no doubt that the player has a ton of skill which was made abundantly clear after he posted back to back seasons of 112 and 109 points while playing in his final two OHL seasons in 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. Additionally, Frost had a respectable first pro season in 2019-2020 registering 29 points in 41 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and 7 points in 20 games with the Flyers. It is definitely evident that Morgan Frost is a player who possesses ample amounts of skill and talent as he has demonstrated through his play in the OHL, at the World Junior Hockey Championship, and at the AHL level. For the Flyers sake it would be ideal if Frost’s previous successes and his talent translates into him becoming the solution to their third line center problem that has troubled this team for years on end to this point.

Another option to take on the third line center position for the Flyers this upcoming season is longtime member of the organization and former first round pick Scott Laughton. Though, it could be disputed that Laughton is more of a contributor offensively playing the wing than center, the veteran Flyers forward has played the center position for this team on a variety of different occasions. Laughton would be a solid option as the third center for the Flyers. Regardless, there may be something left to be desired in relation to his offensive production as opposed to some other top NHL teams third line centers. With that being said, Laughton has never scored more than 32 points and 13 goals in a season in the NHL so far to date. However, a majority of those points came moving around the Flyers line-up and in certain cases in 4th line minutes. Taking that into account, if given the third center role and steady ice time it’s possible that the forward exceeds those prior totals. Although Laughton is not the most offensively gifted he is a solid two way player who is responsible in his own end of the ice and gives his all on every shift which would be two assets to having him fill the team’s third line center position. The driving factor in Laughton potentially being penciled into this spot on the roster may have to do with the latest contract signed by the forward. Laughton just recently signed a 5 year, 15 million dollar contract with a cap hit of 3 million dollars with the Flyers only a few short months ago. Typically 4th line players are not paid to this degree so based on the contract general manager Chuck Fletcher has given to Laughton it’s apparent that the player could already be solidified in this third line center position in both upper management’s and the coaching staff’s minds. Considering this, if Laughton has a strong training camp this September it would not be surprising whatsoever to see him in that third line center role to begin the season.

A last resort option for the Flyers in this center position would be the team’s longest tenured Captain Claude Giroux. It has been stated by both Giroux himself and the Flyers that the team views him as a winger at this stage in his career who can take faceoffs and do so quite well. In all fairness unless the Flyers have no other options ahead of him or injuries impact the team’s center depth it would be a surprise to see Giroux in this role. As it has been seen in the past though hockey is an unpredictable sport and the Flyers were committed to Giroux primarily playing the wing in the 2020-2021 season and he ended up playing a fair amount in the center position. Therefore, anything can happen and Giroux could very well be playing a lot of minutes at center this upcoming season as well. Realistically though, it seems like the Flyers want to ensure Giroux is now a winger for the team going forward as it allows the player to not have to worry about the tough defensive matchups that come with being a center. In turn, this gives him the luxury of placing more focus on the offensive side of the game and creating plays which is something the Flyers are hoping to gain by keeping Giroux on the wing for the foreseeable future. Ultimately, if Giroux does indeed find himself in the third line center role at some point this season it will largely be due to injuries or the team’s other third line center experiments going terribly wrong as it is highly unlikely he is placed there in any other circumstances. 

One remaining option that could fill the Flyers third lines center hole would be if the team decides to sign any other free agents or invite a player to a professional tryout (PTO) in training camp. A key factor to the Flyers being able to do so relies on how much cap space they will have left after signing restricted free agents Travis Sanheim and Carter Hart. Some viable candidates still available on the free agent market the Flyers could potentially pursue depending on their cap situation after the aforementioned Hart and Sanheim are signed are Marcus Johansson, Tyler Bozak, Eric Staal, Ryan Donato, Derick Brassard or Artem Anisimov. The players listed above could all be potential solutions to the third center position for the Flyers. If the team does go the free agent route in all likelihood this signing would act as more of an insurance policy if either Frost or Laughton aren’t able to handle the pressures that come with a role so critical to the Flyers success in the 2021-2022 season. To add on, signing a player of the magnitude mentioned previously could act as a motivating factor for both Frost or Laughton to secure themselves in said position as competition does indeed push players to perform their best. 

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All things considered, the Flyers making another signing to shore up their center depth would give them more options to place in the third line center position if some of their internal candidates (Morgan Frost, Scott Laughton) do not pan out. I do however expect that the team will likely go with in-house options to fill the role. At this point with how long this position has been a question mark one can ponder if making another signing is the right move for GM Fletcher and his staff to explore. It could surely be proclaimed that more candidates for this vital roster spot would be a benefit for the team as the Flyers need to ensure their center depth is a strength this upcoming season in order to return to being a competitive club in the NHL.