The Toronto Maple Leafs have already done plenty of work this offseason, but the one area that still looks shaky is the bottom six. After a disastrous 2025-26 campaign, they’re trying to push back into playoff contention, and the current group still feels short on offense where it matters most.
Toronto brought in Jack Roslovic, Brandon Duhaime, Colton Sissons, and Teddy Blueger in free agency, then added Nick Paul in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Paul and Roslovic should help with scoring depth, but the rest of the forward group down the lineup does not bring much punch.
That is why a move for another forward, especially a center who can slide into the middle six, makes sense once the Maple Leafs sort out Morgan Rielly and create some cap room. One possible fit is Calgary Flames center Morgan Frost.
Frost checks a lot of boxes. He is cost-effective, he can contribute offensively, and he brings enough defensive reliability to be trusted down the middle. He would also give Toronto some lineup flexibility, whether that means using him on the third line or keeping John Tavares there if the veteran’s production dips.
The 27-year-old Frost posted 22 goals and 21 assists for 43 points in 82 games last season. In his career, he has totaled 75 goals and 115 assists for 190 points in 392 games between the Flames and Philadelphia Flyers.
He has one year left on his deal, carrying a $4,375,000 cap hit.
This remains a hypothetical trade idea, not a report of talks between the teams. There is no indication the Maple Leafs and Flames have discussed Frost, and no sign that Frost wants out. Any deal would also depend on whether trade protection would allow it.
A suggested framework would send Frost to Toronto while Calgary gets Bo Groulx and a 2029 second-round pick in return.
For the Flames, that package brings in a useful depth forward in Groulx and another future draft asset. Since Groulx does not appear to have a clear NHL role with the Maple Leafs, he becomes the kind of expendable piece a rebuilding club can target as it adds organizational depth.
For Toronto, the appeal is straightforward: Frost would give them another trustworthy center and help stabilize a forward group that still has some real questions. Gavin McKenna, John Tavares, and Roslovic all come with their own uncertainty, and if one of those pieces slips, the Maple Leafs do not currently have much firepower waiting in the bottom six to step into a larger role.
Adding Frost would give them a better option up the middle and strengthen the case that this team is built to contend this season.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Just Added A Wave Of Prospects Worth Watching
The Maple Leafs have spent the offseason steadily padding their prospect pool, adding 15 players under 25 through the 2023 draft and a mix of trades and free-agent signings. It is the kind of quiet organizational work that does not grab headlines in the moment, but it can matter a great deal when teams are trying to keep a pipeline of useful, affordable talent moving toward the NHL.
Some of the newcomers already have NHL or AHL experience, while others are still tied to college or junior programs and will take longer to develop. For Toronto, the appeal is not just in the volume of additions but in the variety of backgrounds and possible roles, giving the front office a broader group to sort through as it looks for the next useful piece to emerge. [Read more 🡒]
Teddy Blueger Brings A Role The Maple Leafs Clearly Needed
Teddy Bluegers arrival gives the Maple Leafs another layer of depth, and it comes with a clear sense of purpose. The veteran forward signed a two-year contract with Toronto and spoke excitedly about landing with a team that lives and breathes hockey, from the pressure of the market to the energy around the rink. After stops with the Canucks, Penguins and Golden Knights, he brings a familiar kind of experience to a roster that has long leaned on its high-end talent up front.
What stands out most is the role Blueger is ready to embrace. He made it clear he understands where he fits, offering a defensive presence that can help free up Torontos offensive players to do what they do best. For a club looking for more balance deeper in the lineup, that kind of assignment is often easier said than found, and it will be worth watching how quickly he settles into it in a city that expects every addition to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Next Core May Finally Have What Matthews Never Did
The Maple Leafs have spent years built around Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner, but the shape of the roster is changing fast. Marner is gone, Matthews is nearing the end of his current contract and Toronto has already started to pivot toward a different kind of future, one that looks less like a chase for one more swing at the old core and more like a careful handoff to the next one.
Winning the NHL Draft Lottery and taking Gavin McKenna first overall gave that transition a far brighter outline, especially with Easton Cowan and Matthew Knies also in the mix as possible pillars. Management keeps framing the shift as a retool rather than a rebuild, banking on a friendlier salary-cap setup and more experience already in the room, but the real question now is whether this next wave can give Toronto something the previous era never quite had. [Read more 🡒]