Though the Maple Leafs ended their win streak at four games with a loss to the Calgary Flames, they did get a chance to see their next trade target: Morgan Frost.
Monday night came with a lot of excitement for Maple Leafs fans especially after a huge 7-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. However, they were stymied by the Flames and had to deal with a bit of controversy with the officiating - and lost lost Kirill Marchenko to injury.
It was a rough night altogether for the Maple Leafs but for the Flames it gave them their own four-game win streak and pushed them to winners of five of their last six games. It's a stunning turnaround from where they were expected to be, and they have to be feeling pretty good right now.
However there is still some discussion about trades and potential moves the team is going to make either to get rid of some older talent or find a way to get some prospects in order to accelerate their rebuild - and Toronto just got their best look at someone they need to push for.
Morgan Frost could find a fiery exit from the Flames in 2026-27
Morgan Frost is a player who has been thrown around in rumours for the last year or so sporadically, however it seems to be picking up some steam at least according to RNG's Marco D'Amico, who recently reported that Frost is a name likely to be dealt this season:
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Frost, 27, is a versatile two-way centre who is an above average to elite face-off guy who has the potential to give you 20+ goals and 50+ points per season. He's struggled a bit wit hCalgary struggling over the past two seasons but has put up 25 goals and 55 points in that stretch.
Coming over from the Flyers in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier and a 2nd round pick in 2025, he has been a solid hand for the Flames despite not finding much success last year from a team perspective.
He would fit perfectly as a centre for Toronto's second line given he can provide a similar level of face-off skill that John Tavares can.
He's also younger, a lot faster than Tavares (finishing in the 74th percentile in max skating speed last year) and can still provide offensive support for William Nylander and Kirill Marchenko (when he comes back).
Toronto risks ruining their rapidly gaining chemistry with a big trade
It also allows Tavares to move to the third line and centre a group of himself, Gavin McKenna (who should be glued to his side ASAP) and Nick Paul, who slides to the wing. The issue here is that adding Frost, while a good option for now and for later down the line - also messes with something that Toronto can't really risk tinkering with now.
Bringing Frost in would push someone down to the fourth line and take someone out of that fantastic trio of penalty killers. While they aren't going to be perfect every night, they have consistently shut opponents down while also showing glimpses of offensive potential.
You can't risk ruining a good thing, and there's an argument that the fourth line has been the second best line so far for Toronto this year. If that gets broken up, things might get a lot harder going forward.
Frost is a fairly cheap option at $4.375M and is a free agent after this year, so there's no commitment to him, but rather giving up assets. But the team can also simply move Tavares to the 3C when he returns, keep Paul up top, and save assets.
It just depends on if John Chayka wants to make another blockbuster - and it certainly seems to be at the top of his to-do list.
Do you think Morgan Frost makes sense as a trade target for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
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