Frost’s dominance shows Flames the danger of trading him

CALGARY — There are games when Morgan Frost makes you believe again.

Games when the hands, the feet, the speed, the creativity all sync up and you suddenly remember why he went 27th overall.

Why he was once viewed as a core piece in Philadelphia.

Why coaches rave about his potential. Why GMs convince themselves he’s just one stretch away from breaking out for good.

Saturday was one of those games.

In the Flames’ 3-2 win over San Jose, a badly needed morale-booster after five-straight losses, Frost wasn’t just noticeable. He was the best player on the ice. First star. Game‑tilter. 

The kind of centre you build around, not shop around.

A goal. An assist. Five shots on goal. Ten shot attempts. Two penalties drawn. A dangle around Mario Ferraro that drew gasps.

And, maybe most impressively, a 15‑for‑18 night in the faceoff circle, the very area he set a personal goal to improve this season.

“Today, that’s the best I’ve seen him play since he’s been with us,” said Flames coach Ryan Huska.

“The faceoff circle. He had pace to his game. He was setting people up. He’s scoring goals. If you get that version of Morgan Frost every day, I think you’re pretty happy.”

That version is why it’s dangerous to even think about trading him.

But the other version — the one that disappears, the one that stops moving his feet — is why the Flames have to at least listen. 

Frost is the kind of player who can drive a coach crazy.

When he’s on, he looks like a second‑line centre for the next decade. When he’s off, he’s pedestrian.

“Yeah, 100 per cent,” said Huska when asked if the key to Frost’s success is using his speed.

“He tries to play through people standing still. And when you play that way, you’re an easy guy to play against. But when he’s moving and he’s got some grit to his game… he’s a really good player.”

That’s the Frost paradox.

He can be elite. He can be invisible.

He can be a foundational piece. He can be a trade chip.

With the organization prioritizing its youth movement, no one is being pushed out the door, but no one is untouchable either. 

A 26-year-old centre with upside is valuable, especially in an organization devoid of them. 

A centre with inconsistency is movable.

On Saturday, Frost didn’t just score. He didn’t just create. He didn’t just flash.

Playing between Matvei Gridin and Jonathan Huberdeau, it was Frost’s slick setup that sprung Gridin for a game-tying tally the rookie called his first “real” NHL goal. 

It was Frost’s pace that forced the Sharks into mistakes. It was Frost’s confidence that allowed him to try that outrageous move around Ferraro, and prompted Huska to put him on the ice just to take the faceoff that led to Joel Farabee’s game-winning shorthanded snipe.

“I think I was moving my feet,” said Frost, who banged in a power-play goal late in the first to tie the game 1-1.

“It gets talked to me about every day, and I think I did a good job today. When I’m feeling confident, that’s when I can start to be a little more creative and do some of the things that I know I can.”

To Frost’s credit, he’s not delusional about his inconsistency.

“I was definitely going through a rough stretch there before,” he said. “That’s always been the thing with me, keeping it going for a long stretch of time.”

He knows the book on him, and he knows the solution.

One area where Frost has made undeniable progress is the dot.

His goal entering the season was to get above 53 per cent – a lofty target for a guy who didn’t crack 50 per cent until last year. Now he’s 21st in the league at 55.6 per cent.

“That’s something I can feed off,” he said. 

“There were a few times Husk threw me out there basically just for the faceoff… it can get you out on the ice more, and that’s where you want to be.”

A centre who can win draws, drive play, and create offence is valuable. A centre who can do all that at 26 is even more valuable.

Which brings us back to the dilemma.

It’s not like the Flames are actively shopping Frost. But they’re listening. They have to.

For a team desperately in need of centres, trading a 26‑year‑old evolving middleman feels counterintuitive, but letting him walk for nothing in two years would be worse.

Saturday’s performance, and the three goals in four games that came with it, is the kind of stretch that makes you want to keep him forever.

But the stretches before that? Those are the ones that make you wonder what his value might be on the market.

The Flames are going to find out.

If the Flames ever do move Morgan Frost, it won’t be because of nights like Saturday.

It’ll be because there aren’t enough of them.