Michael Frolik Autographed Card

Despite a summer full of rumours, the Calgary Flames have yet to trade T.J. Brodie and Michael Frolik, even though their names came up in hockey news circles almost daily, mostly due to salary cap concerns.

Frolik is a middle-six forward who drives the play forward and can be accounted for 35-45 points (usually 42-44) per season. He's 31 years old and only had a down year in 2017-18 (10 goals, 15 assists, 25 points and -19 in 70 games) but reverted back to his norm in 2018-19 with 16 goals (his career average), 18 assists, 34 points and a +26 rating in just 65 games.

And that's where his age might be catching up with him; his point production and two-way play have remained mostly steady, so if he did lose a step from his early 20s, he's made up for it with experience and Hockey IQ, but he's only played three full 82-game seasons in his 11-year career, and his last four seasons read more like the ages of a golf foursome in Florida than a list of games played: 64, 82, 70 and 65. I'd count on him to miss ten games per season if I were running a team.

He has mostly played in red uniforms throughout his career (Flames, Florida Panthers, Chicago Blackhawks) save for a two-season stint with the Winnipeg Jets, won the Stanley Cup with the Hawks in 2013 and has a handful of bronze medals with the Czech Team on his resume, from the U-18 Championships (2004 and 2006), World Juniors (2005) and World Championships (2011 and 2012). A team that is aspiring to a Cup, like the Flames, would do well to keep his experience within its ranks, in my opinion. He has a pretty clear idea as to what they are missing to win it all.

And he looks pretty good wearing their uniform, too, as can be attested by card #273 from Upper Deck's 2018-19 O-Pee-Chee set:

He signed it in blue sharpie in February (adding his uniform number, 67, below the signature), after a game versus the Ottawa Senators. He is perfect for inclusion in my Flames Numbers Project.