The Philadelphia Flyers have completed a little more restricted free agent work, signing Morgan Frost to a one-year, one-way contract worth $800K. Frost was not yet eligible for arbitration and had little leverage in negotiations.
This is something of a “show me” deal for the 23-year-old forward, who hasn’t been able to find much consistency at the NHL level to this point. In 77 career games, he has 23 points, though those have been spread over three seasons and haven’t been noticeable enough to really cement him as a true building block for the future.
In fact, some would argue that his development has been so scarred by constant bouncing between the AHL and NHL that Frost will never become the cerebral offensive dynamo that the Flyers hoped for when they made him the 27th overall pick in 2017. He did have 19 points in 24 games at the AHL level this season but even there his game was marred with inconsistency.
Still, having only turned 23 in May, there is still time to turn it around. If given the opportunity this season Frost might still be able to turn into a full-time contributor, and since Philadelphia’s big moves in free agency have been more geared toward bottom-six help, there could be an opening higher in the lineup. If he wants to be an impact player in the NHL this is the season to prove it.