The Calgary Flames may have more than one moving part down the middle this season, and Morgan Frost is suddenly part of the conversation.
Travis Yost of TSN points out that Calgary is a little thin at center, with Ryan Strome in the final year of his contract at a $5 million cap hit and likely to be moved by the trade deadline. Mikael Backlund is also in the picture on a two-year deal with a no-movement clause, though teams could still come calling for him at the deadline.
That leaves Frost as an interesting name to watch. He’ll be a UFA after the season and should draw trade interest, but Yost wonders whether an extension might make sense for both sides.
Frost is coming off a career year with 22 goals and 43 points. He may not be a huge offensive driver in Calgary, but he could project as a middle-six center for a lot of teams.
If he gets off to a strong start, Yost suggests GM Craig Conroy could be pushed toward extension talks.
In Florida, the Panthers may have an opening up front while Brad Marchand recovers from surgery, and Patrik Laine has surfaced as a possible fit. George Richards of Florida Hockey Now notes that Laine scored 40 goals under Paul Maurice with the Winnipeg Jets and also knows Aleksander Barkov from their days in Tampere, Finland.
Laine, now 28, could need a PTO just to get into a training camp next month. He was limited to five games last season with Montreal.
If the Panthers place Marchand on LTIR, that would create some cap flexibility. Florida could also choose to give Sandis Vilmanis a look on the third line with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen while Marchand is out.
And then there’s Arizona, where some around the game believe a return of the NHL is getting closer. Daily Faceoff’s Steve Peters said there is a lot happening behind the scenes, while Colby Cohen was even more direct: “That is a place you want to be, whether you’re an athlete or not.
We gotta figure hockey out in Arizona. We’re gonna do it in the USHL, and we’re gonna do it very successfully.
The NHL will come back.”
Peters added: “There is so much smoke going on right now here in Arizona. We saw Bill Daley talking about Arizona.
We saw that the the head of the the committee to bring hockey back to Arizona just met with Gary Bettman. Dude, there is so much going on in Arizona right now behind the scenes.
Just wait, just wait, Arizona fans. It’s closer than you think.”
In Other News...
Brady Tkachuk's Exit Says Plenty About What Panthers Just Added
Tim Stutzle was still sorting through the fallout in Munich, where the NHL/NHPA European Player Media Tour offered a chance to reflect on Brady Tkachuks departure from Ottawa and what it meant for the Senators. For Florida, the trade brought in a player whose presence had clearly mattered in another locker room, the kind of addition that changes the temperature of a team the moment he arrives.
Stutzle praised what Tkachuk gave the Senators and acknowledged the impact of losing him, which is part of why the move has such a clear ripple effect beyond Ottawa. The Panthers paid a steep price to land him, and the reaction from a former teammate only underscores how significant Floridas latest addition looked from the outside. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Prospects Just Earned A Credibility Boost Fans Should Notice
The Panthers got a little more outside validation for their prospect pool this week, as The Athletic slotted Sandis Vilmanis and Simas Ignatavicius among the NHLs best players under 23, placing both in the middle-six winger category. For a Florida system that has leaned heavily on development, getting two young forwards mentioned in that company is the kind of recognition that can matter later, especially when the organization is always looking for affordable scoring help to keep the roster balanced.
The same piece also dug back into Jaromir Jagrs memorable run in Florida, a reminder of how much value the Panthers have gotten from wings who can stretch an offense without needing top-line usage. Around the league, there were other roster notes too, with Detroit acquiring Sutter Muzzatti from Nashville and the Rangers bringing back Scott Morrow, but the Florida angle is the one worth filing away. If these prospects keep trending the way evaluators now see them, the Panthers may have more wing depth on the way than the broader market has been assuming. [Read more 🡒]