In each of the last two seasons, Flyers center Morgan Frost has either led the team in scoring or ranked second on the club in scoring during stretches of 30-plus games.
Now 25 years old and an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent next summer, Frost must put it all together for a full season.
In 2022-23, Frost dressed in 81 of 82 games. However, he spent a stretch from late October to the latter portion of November playing relatively limited minutes. Moved up in the lineup thereafter, Frost led the Flyers in scoring over the season's final 56 games. Frost finished the season with 19 goals (career-high to date), 27 assists and 46 points. Note: A lengthy injury absence for overall 2022-23 leading scorer Travis Konencny played into this outcome. Konecny remained the Flyers points-per-game leader and top full-season point getter.
Last season, Frost was scratched from the Flyers lineup 10 times between October 17 and January 4. However, after having an open one-on-one discussion with head coach John Tortorella on January 5, Frost started every game for the remainder of the season. He spent the majority of the second half on the top power play unit and the top six at five-on-five. Over a 32-game stretch (January 6 to March 16, 2024), Frost posted a team-best 27 points (7g, 20a). He also played some of the best two-way hockey of his career.
Unfortunately, Frost's offense dried up down the heart of the stretch drive. Tallying just three points in the last 12 games of the season. Even with his late-season production slump, Frost's 30 points over the season's final 44 games trailed only Konecny (33 points) and Tippett (31 points). In that span, Frost still topped the club in assists (22).
Frost focused on the positive aspects of his 2023-24 season, rather than dwelling on the negatives. He felt that he'd made progress overall.
"I don't think one game changes that," he said on Exit Day. "We all have to take accountability. There are things I know that I still need to work on, and our team needs to do better. But I love being here. I love the group that we have. I'm excited for next season."
In 2023-24, Frost's season goal total dropped from 19 to 13. He's always been more of a playmaker and pass-first forward rather than a goal scorer. However, he vowed to shoot more frequently and to work on his shot itself. Tactically, Tortorella has publicly stressed multiple times that he wants to see Frost use his legs to attack through the middle more consistently (he did so only in limited stretches, according to the head coach) and look less often to operate from the perimeter.
Frost has made better and more consistent use of his natural skating gifts as he's gained experience. Per NHL Edge tracking, Frost's top skating speed burst measured in the 94th percentile leaguewide (topping out at 23.39 mile per hour). Teammate Tippett had the single fastest speed burst in the NHL last season at 24.21 MPH. Frost's rate of achieving speed burst of 20 or more MPH placed in the 86th percentile, while Tippett was in the 99th percentile. For Frost, using his speed through the middle and improved defensive zone exits with pace are two challenges for him to demonstrate further improvement in 2024-25.
"I think I have a better understanding of how I have to play to be successful in the NHL," Frost said. "You have much less time with the puck, and it's a lot quicker decisions (to make a play). I still look pass first but I think there's ways I can score a little more, too."
For this past season overall, Frost had a career-best 28 assists (in nine fewer games played than the previous year). The decided majority came via primary helpers.
In 2023-24, the Flyers as a team had the lowest power play success rate in franchise history (12.2 percent) ranking 32nd leaguewide. Frost led the team with 11 power play points (three power play goals, eight power play assists) but does not pretend to be nearly satisfied with the results. He also moved around considerably.
"It's tough to pinpoint [where things went wrong]," Frost said. "A lot of fans were frustrated and we were just as frustrated. We tried a lot of different things. I played a lot of power play this year, so I own my part of being accountable. That's something we all need to improve, including me."
Frost will likely never be a Selke Trophy candidate, but he normally takes care of his responsibilities well enough to where it's a non-issue overall. He makes his fair share of subtly effective defensive plays at 5-on-5, although he's not infallible.
Likewise, Frost will never be known as a physical player. It should be noted, though In 2022-23, he pushed himself out of his comfort zone a bit in that facet. Few realize that Frost's 3.86 credited hits per 60 minutes of ice time that year were a bit higher than Noah Cates (3.54), Joel Farabee (3.05) or Konecny (2.73). This past season, Cates (3.83) topped Konency (3.58), Frost (3.04), Farabee (3.02), Bobby Brink (2.74) and Sean Couturier (2.68).
In the bigger picture, the Flyers care little how often or infrequently Frost throws a body check. That's not his role. Frost's prime duty is to consistently set up teammates for scoring chances and keep defenses honest by generating more of his own chances. The key is consistency. Frost must do for a full season what he did over the best segments from his peak 56-game stretch in 2022-23 and his 32-game run from early January to mid-March.
