The Toronto Maple Leafs paid a hefty price to get Scott Laughton at the trade deadline this offseason. The move was precipitated by an apparent lack of depth down the middle.
Beyond Auston Matthews and John Tavares, the Leafs were paper-thin at center. Max Domi never really caught on, while Pontus Holmberg and David Kampf did not move the needle very much. So, GM Brad Treliving went out and got fleeced by the Philadelphia Flyers. The price for Laughton was Nikita Grebenkin and a first-round pick.
That price is what makes grading Laughton so hard.
If the Leafs had shipped a couple of fourth-rounders, Laughton would get much higher marks. But the fact that the Maple Leafs paid so much to get him makes me wonder if the initial return was worth the cost.
Let’s look at the basic stats. In 20 regular-season games, Laughton scored two goals and added two assists. All right, so we know that Laughton isn’t a scoring machine. But his overall game was off at the beginning of his tenure in Toronto.
He started in the top six and gradually slid down the depth chart. By the end of the regular season, Laughton was the 4C.
But then, he seemed to find another role in the playoffs. While he only produced two assists in 13 games, he was a feisty, aggressive player in a shutdown role with Calle Jarnkrok. They had a bit of a revolving door, playing at times with Holmberg, Domi, and Nick Robertson.
What I would say is that Laughton’s value was in his defensive play during the postseason. His line did not commit any major gaffes and did not take stupid penalties. They were reliable and managed to hang with the Panthers.
The problem, and that’s what drives down Laughton’s overall grade, is the fact that his line was unable to provide any sort of depth scoring.
If we look at what the Panthers’ third line produced, players like Brad Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen stepped up when they had to. It wasn’t Aleksander Barkov of Matthew Tkachuk that beat the Leafs.
It was the Cats’ bottom six.
That being said, Scott Laughton will need to be that bottom-six catalyst next season. In my estimation, Laughton should morph into that player once he gets a full training camp and regular season under his belt.
Leafs fans, however, shouldn’t expect more than 15 goals or 30 points from Laughton next season. But as long as he can produce in the postseason, fans will be happy to give Laughton a passing grade.
Overall grade: C
In retrospect, Scott Laughton deserves some slack. It was reported that the trade from Philly to Toronto blindsided him.
Moreover, he jumped from relative obscurity in Philly to the biggest fishbowl in the NHL. His performance, while certainly lacking in the offensive department, was satisfactory as he played the veteran role he was brought in to play.
The hope is that Laughton can find his bearings in Toronto moving forward. If he does, the narrative surrounding the trade could change from a fleecing to an acceptable one.