Scott Laughton, Philadelphia Flyers
The Leafs have actually been after Scott Laughton for quite some time now during the 2024-25 NHL season. As a former first round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers back in the 2012 NHL Draft, Laughton hasn’t turned out to be the prolific goal scorer that he displayed during his final season in juniors when he put up 40 goals in 54 games. However, he has developed into a reliable, productive middle-six forward that the Flyers could comfortably deploy at their will.
His best season came in 2022-23 when he posted 18 goals, 25 assists for 43 points in 78 games played with Philadelphia. This year, Laughton has recorded 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points in 58 games of action to date with the same Flyers team. But what makes him invaluable is the fact he is a special teams player that could provide an impact both on the power play and penalty kill, along with playing a physical game, averaging over 150 hits per season in his career.
However, it appears as though the Flyers asking price currently involves Fraser Minten, which is quite high given Minten’s ceiling of potentially developing into a top second-line center. But if the Leafs are really going for it this year, then better Minten than Easton Cowan that’s for sure.
Dylan Cozens, Buffalo Sabres
Earlier this year, the Leafs had expressed interest in Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens. After all, at just the young age of 24, Cozens could be an attractive piece to build around given his former first round pick pedigree. In addition, he has the potential to be a 30+ goal scorer and close to 70 point-getter as witnessed from his breakout 2022-23 season.
However, one caveat has been the fact that Cozens has struggled to reproduce those numbers in the past couple of seasons. Usually among the top five in team scoring, he has fallen down closer to eighth this year with the Sabres with 11 goals, 19 assists for 30 points in 58 games played.
Moving suddenly to a contender after multiple losing seasons with the Sabres could potentially unlock his potential. But it could be a costly gamble for the Leafs to take, give that Cozens still have five years left on his contract worth close to $7.1 million per season. If he ends up working out, he could be the next William Nylander. But if he doesn’t, he would become a big-time buyout in the end.