Morgan Frost is already the kind of player teams can talk themselves into, and that’s exactly why the next few months in Calgary could get interesting fast.
The 27-year-old Flames centreman has three goals and seven points this season, and he’s headed for unrestricted free agency this summer. According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, Calgary has already opened extension talks with Frost and his agent.
That makes sense on paper: he’s skilled, he can chip in 40-plus points in a season, and the Flames need help down the middle. But there’s plenty of hesitation in the mix too.
Frost has battled inconsistency over his 403-game career, and he’s unlikely to become much more than what he is now. Add in the fact that he’s likely to command a sizable contract in a summer with very few centres available, and Calgary is staring at a real crossroads.
If the Flames decide not to extend him, they won’t let him simply drift into free agency. They’d move him, and there should be no shortage of interested teams.
Minnesota is an obvious fit. The Wild have climbed into the conversation as one of the Western Conference’s stronger teams, built around Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, while also adding one of the league’s best defencemen last year in Quinn Hughes and one of the NHL’s best young goaltenders in Jesper Wallstedt.
Even with all that talent, they still don’t have the kind of centre depth you want from a true contender. They’re also in the mix for Dylan Larkin, but if that chase comes up empty, Frost would be a solid fallback.
He’d bring more skill, help on the power play, and give Bill Guerin another option without being the headline move.
Montreal is another team that could use him badly enough to make something happen. The Canadiens have been leaned on hard at centre without Nick Suzuki, and even after three straight wins, the need for more offensive punch down the middle hasn’t gone away.
The problem is money. Montreal has just $1.77 million in cap space, which doesn’t come close to covering Frost’s $4.375 million cap hit.
Unless Calgary retained salary - and the source suggests the Flames are unlikely to do that - the Canadiens would have to clear room or send Kirby Dach back the other way to make it work.
Toronto belongs in the conversation too. The Maple Leafs have been dealing with their own centre issues since John Tavares missed the last six games with a lower-body injury, forcing Nick Paul into the second-line center spot.
That’s a lot to ask of him. Frost would give Toronto another layer of insurance at centre if injuries continue and could slide into a third-line role once the lineup is healthy again.
He’d also add some scoring depth behind Auston Matthews and William Nylander, which is something the Leafs can always use.
Frost has enough offensive touch to help plenty of teams. The bigger question is whether Calgary believes that talent is worth a long-term bet. If the extension talks go nowhere, Craig Conroy should have options.
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A loss to the surging Calgary Flames did more than dent the Maple Leafs momentum. It also kept a familiar front-office question hanging in the background, because Toronto has been monitoring the market for help down the middle and the name that keeps coming up carries some real fit appeal. Morgan Frost has the kind of profile teams talk themselves into this time of year, a versatile center with useful face-off ability and enough offensive upside to make him more than just a depth add.
For Toronto, the appeal is obvious, but so is the complication. The Leafs have built a certain rhythm through their current line combinations, and bringing in a player like Frost would not be a simple plug-and-play move. It would likely mean reworking the middle of the lineup and changing the deployment of established centers, which is exactly the sort of trade ripple that can make a good idea harder to execute. [Read more 🡒]
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Cost is the real issue here, along with the fit. Toronto is weighing not just the price of acquisition, but the contract implications and whether the kind of transaction needed to land a target would be straightforward or require more complicated maneuvering. For a club looking to shore up its back end, the question is not only who can help, but how much it will take to get him in a Leafs sweater. [Read more 🡒]
Chris Tanevs Return Could Give The Leafs A Needed Blue Line Lift
Chris Tanev was back at practice Tuesday in a red non-contact jersey, a small but meaningful step for a Maple Leafs blue line that has been looking for help. Toronto has been dealing with injuries on the back end, so seeing Tanev back on the ice offered at least a little relief and a sign that the teams defensive picture may be starting to clear up.
The next question is how quickly the Leafs can turn that progress into game action. Tanevs return would give Toronto a steadier presence on defense and could ease some of the urgency around adding outside help, but the club will still need to weigh the timing carefully as it moves through the final stages of his recovery. [Read more 🡒]