Photo Credit: Lehigh Valley Phantoms
After Kevin Hayes, the team’s second-line center was sent to the IR (Injured Reserve list) a few weeks ago, the Flyers’ young center Morgan Frost was gifted an opportunity by head coach Alain Vigneault to truly prove himself by playing in multiple preseason games alongside some of the team’s best NHL players. Though set up with the best linemates the team had to offer, once again Frost (the two-time 100-point scorer for the Ontario Hockey Leagues Soo Greyhounds) failed to contribute offensively. To his credit, Frost is coming back from a season-ending injury that he received after playing in just two regular season games last season in what was yet another golden opportunity that was gifted to Frost after star center Sean Couturier went down with injury at the beginning of last season.
These two failed chances to flourish were not his only short comings: In the 2019-2020 season Morgan was given a shot to play on a line with the team’s captain Claude Giroux (who has amassed over 850 regular season points in his career), a player who has been known to make depth players, stars in the league when they play with him. Examples being Michael Raffl (who recorded a career best 21 goals that year when given a chance to play with Giroux after injures on the team piled up (a number he has been unable to come close to ever since)) and Matt Read (who was able to surpass the 20-goal mark that season once placed on a line with Giroux). But when Frost was gifted the opportunity to play 20 games with Claude that season, he seemed snake bitten at times: Unable to net numerous opportunities given to him from the master puck distributor (Giroux), Morgan only managed to score just 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points before management was forced to send him down to the Phantoms.
While many fans still have this aging prospect’s back, some are beginning to question just how many chances is this player is going to squander away before the team’s general manager Chuck Fletcher tires of it and decides to move on? This former 2017 1st round pick is now 22 years old and, while he shows a great hockey sense in all three zones and definitely improved while in the faceoff circle, his continued inability to finish in and around the net while playing NHL LEVEL talent is becoming concerning. Frost seemingly has all the intangibles to be great- as evidenced by his fantastic outing in his most recent game for the Phantoms- but this player who was drafted nearly five calendar years ago seems more likely to end up with a career similar to the former Edmonton Oilers’ 2004 1st round pick center Rob Schremp whose offensive talents and elite stickhandling ability had most fans certain he was destined for NHL stardom, especially after posting an unheard of 145 points in his last year of juniors playing for the Ontario Hockey Leagues London Knights. But once turning pro, while he was able to have much success at the American Hockey League (AHL) level, he was never really able to achieve that kind of success when he got the chance to play on the world’s biggest stage (NHL).
Call me crazy but let’s keep in mind that Chuck Fletcher did not even draft Frost, and that in just a few short years Chuck has been able to come in and land some pretty impressive prospects of his own: On offense alone, Chuck has drafted players like Samu Tuomaala, Tyson Foerster, Zayde Wisdom, Elliott Desnoyers, and Connor McClennon. All of these prospects have improved vastly since being draft by the incumbent GM and are making their own worth known.
But enough about the ones that are still up-and-coming. What about guys like Joel Farabee, who was drafted a year after Frost and has not only already been able to play in two full seasons with the Flyers but has become known as a true scoring threat (like Frost was supposed to be by now) after Farabee led the team last season in goals with 20.
By now I bet you’re saying, “well not all players develop at the same time” and you would be right. Here is a list of some of his fellow 2017 draftees and how many games they have been able to play in the NHL to this point compared to Morgan’s measly 2 goals in 22 games thus far. Not only has former teammate Nolan Patrick been able to play in close to 200 regular season NHL games, (even when forced to miss an entire season due to concussion like systems).
| Team | Player, by order of 2017 draft pick | Regular-Season NHL Games |
| New Jersey | Nico Hischier | 230 |
| Dallas | Miro Heiskanen | 205 |
| Colorado | Cale Makar | 101 |
| Vancouver | Elias Pettersson | 165 |
| Vegas | Cody Glass | 66 |
| Buffalo | Casey Mittelstadt | 155 |
| Detroit | Michael Rasmussen | 102 |
| Carolina | Martin Necas | 125 |
| Vegas | Nick Suzuki | 127 |
| St. Louis | Robert Thomas | 169 |
| New York | Filip Chytil | 186 |
| Edmonton | Kailer Yamamoto | 105 |
| Chicago | Henri Jokiharju | 153 |
| Nashville | Eeli Tolvanen | 47 |
So, then I guess my question is why is it that Philadelphia fans, the media, and coaches alike continue to make excuses for this player’s stagnant journey to the NHL? Over the past 3 seasons he has been gifted time and time again the opportunity to play with this team’s best players and has failed to produce. I, like all of you, want this player to flourish in order to help the Flyers win but it’s getting to the point that (like the great actor Burgess Meredith said in the movie Grumpy Old Men. “You can wish in one hand and crap in the other and see which gets filled first.” Meaning it’s just not going to happen.
The question now becomes what, if anything, should the team do with him? The Flyers are in a ‘win now’ mode and trading him for an NHL-proven player who could contribute is but a pipe dream, but what if the Flyers tried to get the most for him by capitalizing on another team’s misfortune? The Los Angels Kings are a team whose prospect pipeline is filled to the brim with some talented prospects after having fallen from grace since hoisting the cup but few are ready to play in the NHL just yet, with the exception of their 2020 2nd overall pick center Quinton Byfield. This phenomenal talent- who stands at 6’4 and 215 pounds at just 19 years old- was destined to make the Kings’ opening night roster after having an amazing camp but in a preseason game against the Arizona Coyotes a couple of days ago, he suffered a severe, possibly season ending, ankle injury after a check from Christian Fischer which can be seen below.
Look, the Kings’ current roster was weak to begin with, and they were looking forward to adding a player with Byfield’s offensive prowess but now they seem destined to do without. Might it be wise for Chuck Fletcher to offer a package deal involving Frost while the team’s management is still in disarray? Maybe they decide to receive a depth forward like 28-year-old winger Martin Frk (and quality picks in return) whose powerful slapshot was clocked at a record breaking 109.2 MPH to replace the injured Wade Allison until he is fit to return to the lineup. Or maybe they trade prospect for prospect and get an elusive right-hand shot-defenseman like either LA’s Helge Grans or Brock Faber who could possibly replace Justin Braun in the lineup next season when his contract expires. Either of these two defensemen the Kings could stand to do without, seeing that they selected RHS defenseman Brandt Clarke 8th overall this year. The decision would be solely up to Chuck, but it seems like either one of these suggested trades (or one of his own design) would help both the Flyers and the Kings win sooner rather than later.
Martin Frk:
Helge Grans:
If that doesn’t work, there’s always Buffalo. Fletcher has already shown that he can get a deal done with the Sabres GM Kevyn Adams when he was able to acquire Ramus Ristolainen earlier this offseason. The Sabres’ offense could no doubt use some help after having to trade former 2nd overall pick Sam Reinhart this off season and having to deal with the harsh reality of not having the team’s injured super star center Jack Eichel in their lineup yet again. There’s little doubt that Frost would be able to retain a position in the Sabres’ grossly depleted offense and help them have yet another building block for the future and, given Martin Jones’ recent play, a prospect that the Flyers should want to ask for in return is one that the Sabers just acquired as a throw in when they traded Reinhart to the Panthers. Seeing that Florida already possessed the great goaltender in Spencer Knight they were willing to part with goaltender Devon Levi- a goalie that few knew about before being drafted by Florida in the 7th round. But that did not go overlooked by this writer as is I suggested the Flyers need to draft him in the 7th round in my complete seven round mock draft article I posted back in Aug. of 2020 before the draft.
Since being drafted, this goalie has only helped team Canada win a silver medal in the U20 World Junior Championships where he was able to win the honor of being named the tournament’s best goaltender in which he posted an incredible 0.75 goals-against-average (GAA) over seven games played which he paired with a tournament best .964 save percentage SV% as well. Continuing on this season, Levi has continued to impress by playing this year for Northeastern University where- in two games played thus far- he has failed to give up a goal yet posting back to shut outs in the NCAA he now has a 0.00 GAA. The Sabers already have goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen thriving in their system and might be willing to part with Levi for the likes of Frost. Now, as we have seen this camp, the Flyers already have three prospect goaltenders but none of whom show the kind of talent this young goaltender does.
These are just a few examples of some possible trades Fletcher could look to bring to fruition in order to better the team. While Frost may not be able to crack the Flyers’ lineup, he could find himself helping a lesser NHL franchise this season if Chuck so sees fit. Morgan is not one of Chuck’s own guys; he is a leftover from the Hextall era and, seeing what departures Fletcher made this offseason, he clearly isn’t messing around anymore. As prized as he once was, Frost has been unable to advance his game to the NHL level and now may be the time to part with him before his stock plummets to a point the Flyers cannot get anything for him.
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