Do Morgan Frost and the Chicago Blackhawks makes sense?

Stop us if you've heard this one before. Morgan Frost continues to be a topic of conversation as his future in Philadelphia is once again being discussed.

Depending on who you ask, you might get conflicting opinions. Some say that the Flyers still believe that Frost is a part of the team's future despite his early season struggles. Others say that the two sides are getting closer and closer to a breakup for good.

The fire has only been fueled as Elliotte Friedman has recently weighed in on Frost. In Thursday's edition of 32 Thoughts, Friedman used an early thought to speculate on a team that could potentially make sense for Frost.

"Player-team that seem a match: Morgan Frost and Chicago. Frost didn’t play Wednesday against Carolina, the fourth game of the last five he’s watched from the press box. He’s not a complainer, prefers to keep any displeasure behind closed doors, but players want to play. Obviously, any dance needs partners who deal, but the Blackhawks, in dire need of centres, are one team that makes sense for him."

Any time someone like Friedman weighs in, it gives some validity to a situation. Now, this doesn't mean that Frost is going to be traded to Chicago. But, it does bring the idea that Frost's name is being tossed around. There have been some early trades this season, a little more than we're typically used to seeing at this time. So it's not like a move is out of the question.

The Leafs parted ways with Timothy Liljegren, sending him to the Sharks. Lars Eller was reunited with the Capitals after spending time in Pittsburgh. Daniel Sprong was traded from the Canucks to the Kraken. The Flyers have even made a move of their own, trading Ronnie Attard to Edmonton.

Morgan Frost and the Blackhawks?

Frost has appeared in 16 games for the Flyers. He's been a healthy scratch in four of the last five games. He has one goal and six points. Defensively, things have been even worse. Amongst players who have played at least 180 minutes this season, Frost ranks second to last on the Flyers with a 40.11 CF%. Compared to the rest of the league, this number puts Frost at 466 out of 474 players.

The Flyers have been outscored 11-4 and are getting destroyed in the shot battle with Frost on the ice. He owns a 39.82 xGF%, the lowest among all forwards on the team. If we change this to the entire league, Frost sits at 452 out of the same 474 players. That is just not going to cut it on any team, especially not one coached by John Tortorella.

And while the two won't speak publically about the relationship between them, there have been clues that things aren't looking good. Tortorella has spoken on Frost before, saying that he won't be treating him the same way as he has the last two seasons. Considering Frost has been a healthy scratch on numerous occasions before this season, that isn't a good indictment of how the Flyers' coach feels about him.

"I cannot continue to go through the same process with Morgan that I’ve done for two years. It’s not fair to him," Tortorella said this past Tuesday. "It would be stupid to coach that way because we’ve done that. He’s going to have to take some onus on himself here when he gets an opportunity to make it stick because we certainly need help in that position.”

That last part is a fact. The Flyers do not have strong depth at the center position. In the team's last game, their centers were Sean Couturier, Scott Laughton, Noah Cates, and Ryan Poehling. It doesn't spark the most fear in other teams when they see those four lining up. Chicago is another team that doesn't boast strong depth down the middle. They may be even worse than the Flyers are in that aspect.

The Blackhawks have Jason Dickinson, Nick Foligno, Ryan Donato, and Lukas Reichel. The Hawks have relied on Dickinson to help Connor Bedard. Foligno has been around the league for a long time and has had a slight surge in offense since joining Chicago. Donato did post near career-highs last season, while Reichel is still early in his career.

Frost, who is still only 25, has played 245 games in his career. He's in that in-between spot of still being a young player in the league, but also having some experience as well. For a team like Chicago that is building around a young core, Frost could only add to that. And he shouldn't cost too much.

Coming up on free agency this summer, the Flyers don't necessarily have the leverage to ask for much when it comes to Frost. His poor start to the season only adds to his low value. Chicago has four picks in the first two rounds of next year's draft. A first-round pick is likely off the table, especially when the Hawks should be in contention for another high selection. But one of those second-rounders could work. If they wanted to kick the can down another year, they have two second-round picks in 2026 as well.

The Flyers would have to look at the pros and cons of a Frost trade at this point. Is it inevitable? Most likely, unless Frost turns things around on both sides of the puck. It would hurt the already shallow depth the Flyers have at center, but they have recently been playing without him in the lineup.

Is this finally the moment that Frost sees his time end in Philadelphia? It might be the best thing for both sides.