What should the Flames do with Morgan Frost?

One of many questions the Calgary Flames need answered this season is what to do with Morgan Frost?

The 27-year-old from Aurora, Ontario is in the final season of his two-year deal that carries a cap hit of $4.375 million. At the end of the 2026-27 season, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent. Really, the Flames have two choices, re-sign him or trade him ahead of the Mar. 1 trade deadline.

Even in a rebuilding year, it seems like there’s mutual interest from both sides to explore a potential contract, as The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that the two camps have had preliminary discussions.

In this article, we’ll take a look at whether they should keep or trade Frost!

The case to trade Morgan Frost

The arguments to trade Frost are pretty clear. Despite a 7-8-1 record and a 6-3-1 record in their last 10, this is supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Flames. After trading players like Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Rasmus Andersson, Nazem Kadri, etc, the Flames are running out of players with value on the trade market.

Frost, Joel Farabee, Yegor Sharangovich, Ryan Strome and maybe Devin Cooley are the five players they can realistically trade in the next few years without hindering their future window of contention. Moving those players makes the team worse, but it also means they’ll pick higher in the draft. It also means that they’ll get assets back that could help their rebuild.

A quick look at the Flames’ draft record since Craig Conroy took over shows that the team can find value in the late first round, as well as in the latter rounds of drafts. Frost can easily land the Flames a first-round pick from a contender.

As fun as this season has been (at least since the first five games), a rebuilding year or two is much better for the long-term health of this team. The third spot in the Pacific Division is wide open, but landing in the mushy middle yet again lessens the chance that the Flames will be able to draft a game-changing superstar. It’s certainly still possible, of course.

It’s also going to be a sellers market ahead of the Mar. 1 deadline, it always is. How many teams are offering an established second-line centre who is capable of putting up 20+ goals and 40+ points a season?

For context, Nicolas Roy, a third-line centre on the Toronto Maple Leafs, netted the Original Six team the Colorado Avalanche’s first-round pick. Roy had an extra year on his and is a big-bodied right-shot centre, but was on pace for his worst season since becoming a full-time NHLer. Frost is on pace for 22 goals and 50 points 15 games into the season, the fifth consecutive season he’d score 39 or more points. 

The case to re-sign Morgan Frost

Okay, so what about the cases for keeping the 27-year-old?

No Flame since the start of the 2025-26 season has scored more than Frost’s 26 goals, though Farabee (25) and Coronato (20) are hot on his tail. Those three players have been the main producers these past two years, as they’re the only three players with 50+ points, with Frost’s 52 sitting third. Of course, that production also hinders the rebuild as the Flames are winning games.

One area that can’t be overlooked is the veteran presence. I’ve watched a lot of rebuilds, and where they fail is when teams don’t have skilled veterans. Look no further than the team north of Calgary before the Connor McDavid era, or what’s happening in the Windy City. 

You can even make a case for the Buffalo Sabres before they finally broke through last season. The Detroit Red Wings are the outlier, but you want a rebuild that the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks have had.

Another factor, and the one that makes me think they’ll elect to keep him, is the fact that Frost is only 27 years old. If this rebuild lasts five years, Frost will still be in his early 30s and can actually contribute early in the Flames’ window of contention. Frost is a second-line centre as of right now, but he’ll age nicely and can fill in as the third-line centre when this rebuild is over.

Yes, he’ll get paid, but by the time the Flames need to sign their big names, Frost’s cap hit will nearly be off the books, or potentially even completely off the books depending on the term.

One thing that can’t happen, though, is for Frost to reach free agency. A decision will need to be made by Mar. 1’s trade deadline.