Flyers loan Morgan Frost to AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley, activate Michael Raffl off long-term injured reserve

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Morgan Frost's taste of the NHL is over ... for now.

The Flyers sent the 20-year-old back to AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley on Sunday night and activated Michael Raffl off long-term injured reserve.

Is the Frost demotion surprising? Somewhat. It seemed like Mikhail Vorobyev could have been the candidate to go down and have Raffl fill his fourth-line center spot.

Then again, Frost, one of the organization's top prospects, hit a bit of a wall production-wise after scoring two goals and three points in his first two NHL games. In 16 games since, the playmaking center had four points (all assists) and a minus-4 mark.

Frost gave the Flyers an offensive jolt down the middle when they desperately needed it. Lately, though, he had slid down to the third line. He is much more of a factor playing in a top-six role.

Having the 2017 first-round pick return to Lehigh Valley could allow Frost to regain his confidence and be ready to help down the stretch for the Flyers. With the Phantoms, he'll play big minutes and be relied upon heavily to score.

For now, the Flyers will look to Vorobyev to provide some offense at third- or fourth-line center as Raffl joins the bottom six down the middle. While the Flyers have improved their goal prevention, they still need offense. Frost is the type of player that is always a threat to make something happen even if he's struggling to put up points.

The veteran Raffl had been out since early December because of a broken right pinkie finger. Scott Laughton, another key role forward, is nearing a return from a groin injury. When he comes back, Andy Andreoff will likely join Frost in Lehigh Valley.

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