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Morgan Frost is a middle-six center who plays a 200-foot game. The 2017 first-round pick likes to get a lot of touches on the puck in the defensive and neutral zones. I like his skating and he has good spatial awareness and a nice touch on the puck. Those tools make him good at finding teammates through the neutral zone to establish offensive zone possession.
A once dominant offensive producer in the OHL, Frost hasn’t quite involved himself offensively as expected. He wasn’t able to consistently create scoring chances in Philadelphia and he’s hovered around a 40-point average in his NHL career, peaking at 46 points in 2022-23.
With strong defensive performances and proven secondary offense, Frost is already a strong third-line caliber center. Even at age 25, there is potential for more now that he is away from John Tortorella’s tight grasp. He’s a nice fit for a Flames team whose top-six centers are currently the 34-year-old Nazem Kadri and 35-year-old Mikael Backlund, the latter of whom is particularly over-utilized.
Joel Farabee, a winger, was the 14th overall pick in the 2018 NHL draft and has shown promise in his early NHL career. As a 20-year-old he tallied 20 goals in 55 games in 2021. Even last season, when he and Tortorella didn’t see eye-to-eye, Farabee hit the 50-point mark.
His game has fallen off this season and it was time for the two sides to part ways. He’s still only 24 years old and has proven plenty in the NHL already. Despite barely clocking at 6″0, Farabee has shown a willingness to play bigger than his size. In juniors, he was tenacious in the corners and around the net and sacrificial in the defensive zone. He hasn’t quite brought that to the NHL yet but, this season aside, Farabee has been an engine for offense. There’s a reason the Flyers signed him to a six-year, $25 million contract in 2021. He’ll have a chip on his shoulder in Calgary and there is every reason to believe he could be a top-six winger for the next six-plus seasons.
Last season’s liquidation of most of the Flames’ core leaves General Manager Chris Conroy trying to build anew. But in a transition season, rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf has boosted the Flames somewhat unexpectedly into the middle of the Western Conference playoff mix.
The acquisition of Frost and Farabee is a creative way to improve the roster that fits with the team’s realistic trajectory. They’re a better team now but, more importantly, brought in two young players under team control and could be fixtures on a good team as soon as next season.
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