Freezing yeast without some form of cryoprotectant leads to massive die off. That said, when you have trillions of cells even if you kill off 99%+ you can have billions of cells left to make a starter and brew with. Treating the yeast in different ways can help them survive freezing better.
For example, if you refrigerate the yeast for a few days and then move it directly into the freezer you will have better survival than if it was warm and put in the freezer. When they are cold for a while they anticipate freezing temps and will create the sugar trehalose which is protective. Trehalose is broken down within minutes of warming, so you really need to go straight from fridge to freezer. If you add glycerol as a cryoprotectant then you get even better survival.
Slow freezing is better than fast freezing. Part of the yeast's protective mechanism is to eject cell contents. This may be so that when the internal water expands with freezing they are not automatically exploding. It may also cause internal freezing point depression and smaller ice crystals due to the reduction in water content. Their ability to survive freezing in this way is highly dependent on the strength of their aquaporin genes, which will let them push water out of the cell more easily and then rehydrate during thawing. I have not found any viability difference between yeast that is slowly thawed on ice vs. room temp vs. quickly thawed in a heat block.
Bottom line - everyone is right
You probably got massive die off, but might still have enough cells to make beer with. I would make some serial starters and try to get rid of dead cells.