Morgan Frost had been in the doghouse with John Tortorella, having been scratched for six straight Flyers games. While Tortorella didn’t feel like Frost has been playing his best hockey, he gave him a shot against the Carolina Hurricanes.
During his time being scratched, a lot of people speculated what was really going on with Frost. Was he just a player Tortorella didn’t like? Was he being traded? Tortorella heard the noise and made sure to respond and responded more than once.
John Tortorella on Morgan Frost:
— Jamey Baskow (@JameyBaskow) October 18, 2023
"Frosty just needs to play better. I'm not going to debate this in public to fill your papers. He hasn't played poorly, others have just played better."#Flyers
Tortorella gave the playing time that Frost could have had to Bobby Brink and Tyson Foerster. Both have been playing some really good hockey and have made it hard to put Frost back in the lineup in just any role. And Frost knew it too.
Frost: "I didn't play good the first two games, simple as that. There's guys pushing for spots here, you look at guys like Tyson & Bobby, they've played very well.
— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) October 18, 2023
I understand it. I need to play better. It's only two games, I don't think that's my whole season."
Frost was slated into the roster for the first time and Tortorella wanted to see him play with pace. While he believes Poehling hasn’t been playing bad, it is about “an evolution of a team”. So, what could this mean for Frost moving forward? What it means is that Tortorella wants to see more consistency from his young center. It’s safe to say the player who led the team in points in the second half of the season last season is the player he wants to see. However, we haven’t seen it yet.
While Frost had an okay game back against the Hurricanes, he still had some inconsistencies in his game at times. When Frost plays with pace and moves north to south quickly, he excels because of the speed he has. Frost has shown flashes of being the player that the Flyers want him to be, but it comes and goes. This year is about refining the culture Tortorella is building and finding guys to be a part of this team moving forward. However, with Brink and Foerster doing all the right things, Frost is going to have to earn his right to stay in this lineup.
While I know there is frustration from a lot of the Flyers fans and other voices following the Flyers, it’s plain and simple. Frost needs to be the playmaker they want him to be. Personally, I think he has the ceiling to be the player they want but the question remains on if the Flyers and Tortorella have the patience on the 24-year-old center. While this will be Frost’s third year as a full time NHLer, he has been, in the words of Tortorella in the past, “Up and down like a toilet seat”. It might be time to move on from Frost and continue to give the young players a chance. At some point, we will see some of the prospects getting time in the NHL and players are going to have to sit.
Moving Frost can be beneficial for both team and player. Frost could be needing a change of scenery, and the goal of Danny Briere and Keith Jones is to obtain draft capital. While Frost has been good on the defensive side of the puck, his offensive production is what’s keeping him scratched. Frost had a couple of nice passes against the Canes, one leading to a Konecny chance in front of the net that he sailed high. Frost being active and using his speed also led to him drawing a penalty while trying to get a wraparound attempt. Frost only had three shots on net as well.
If Frost wants to be a Flyer moving forward and a piece of this core, then he needs to play with confidence. But I just am unsure if he can do it moving forward. If Frost is going be traded, it most likely will be during the trade deadline. Until then, we wait and see what the 24-year-old will bring to this team and if he is capable of being the player Tortorella wants.