In this edition of our 2023-24 Philadelphia Flyers player grading series, we take a look at 24-year-old center Morgan Frost. He was constantly in and out of favor of his coach, but he ultimately had a positive impact on the team. How did he perform overall, and what grade does he deserve?
Frost Fights Off Healthy Scratch Saga
Very early in the season, Frost was in a battle with his head coach, John Tortorella. After a poor performance in his second game, he proceeded to be a healthy scratch for the next six. To the coach’s credit, the Flyers were playing some good hockey without him, but it was also pretty unfair to Frost. He never got the chance to work his way back into the lineup, so he just had to be a good sport about the situation.
Frost’s production wasn’t exactly immediate once he got another chance, but he was good defensively for the Flyers. He had an elite expected goals against per 60 (xGA/60) of 2.16 in his next 10 contests and an expected goals percentage (xGF%) of 56.7 percent. While two goals and two assists for just four points in that span wasn’t his best work, he was finding new ways to contribute. Frost made it clear that he was an important asset for the Orange and Black.
After being scratched in six of his first eight games, Frost played in 93.2 percent of the Flyers’ remaining schedule. He had a couple more run-ins with Tortorella, ending in January, but he didn’t let his game regress as a result of the tough love he was getting. In fact, he was arguably at his peak after this final incident.
Emergence as Flyers’ Best Center
When scratched on Jan. 4 by Tortorella, Frost had enough. The Flyers had lost five of their last six games in which he wasn’t present, so it was becoming clear that the shenanigans around him had to come to an end for the team to be at their best. Regardless, he made a statement by putting up eight goals and 22 assists for 30 points and a solid 50.8 xGF% in his last 44 contests. He led the team in primary and total assists in that span, taking flight as a playmaker.
Looking at the numbers and just how much Tortorella trusted him over some of the other centers on the team, it is evident that he was the team’s best center during this long stretch. For starters, Frost had the points lead by a pretty decent margin over the other three centers on the team. Scott Laughton wasn’t too far off with 23, but Ryan Poehling and captain Sean Couturier combined only had 29, still behind Frost’s 30.
But it doesn’t just stop there. Despite playing in by far the toughest minutes of any other center, Frost had the best plus-minus, the second-best xGF%, the best scoring chances percentage (SCF%), and the second-best high-danger chances percentage (HDCF%) on the team from Jan. 4 through the last game of the season. He was outplaying top-six competition while some others struggled against bottom-six players.
Considering how much was being asked of Frost in this time period versus other centers, his numbers were impressive. When virtually nobody else on the team was taking charge, he was. Frost didn’t have the greatest end to the season in April, but he also took a step up during the team’s seven-game stretch of top-end teams from March 14 through March 26 with two goals and five assists for seven points.
Frost’s Final Grade
As a whole, Frost had a good season. He ranked fifth on the team with 41 points and had great on-ice numbers for someone who played his peak ice time when the Flyers’ defense and goaltending started to regress a bit, something that could have derailed his numbers. His 13 goals didn’t exactly move the needle all that much, but he was an important all-around player for Philadelphia. A B-plus rating seems about right.
Related: 3 Reasons for the Flyers’ End-Of-Season Collapse in 2023-24
Frost is eligible for an extension this offseason with his contract expiring after the 2024-25 campaign. If he can progress and show definitive proof that he is a long-term solution as a top-six center for the Orange and Black, it is unlikely for him to be dealt away. If he doesn’t take another step in the right direction, his time could end soon. If general manager (GM) Danny Briere is confident in Frost and he makes said progress, the centerman could come across a large sum of money.