The Toronto Maple Leafs traded for Scott Laughton from the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday. While the Leafs had reportedly checked in on Brock Nelson and Mikko Rantanen, it was ultimately Laughton who ended up in Toronto.
Laughton fits an immediate positional need for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were extremely thin at centre-ice. Laughton takes care of that by slotting in behind team captain Auston Matthews and John Tavares as the new third-line centre.
Laughton doesn't score much, but he can play multiple positions and is a fast skater who is good defensively.
Who know what wingers the Leafs will put him with, but the team is now much improved at centre.
Toronto Maple Leafs Address Current and Future Needs with Scott Laughton Trade
There’s also another key side to Laughton. He can kill penalties and he can fight. That’s the type of player Craig Berube loves.
The Leafs are thinking three or four moves ahead with this trade. While the best-case scenario is to win the division, the Leafs could ultimately face Tampa in the first round yet again. As such, a guy like Laughton provides an edge Toronto needs to combat the forward skill of the Bolts.
Laughton does nothing to address the Leafs depth scoring issue, but the team is clearly betting that Nylander, Matthews, Marner and Tavares will score more in the playoffs than they have in the past. This is not unreasonable, and when you consider that they also have Robertson, Knies, Domi and McMann, not to mention Alex Steeves tearing up the AHL, then depth scoring shouldn't be much of an issue.
The Leafs gave up Nikita Grebenkin and a first-rounder in 2027, and so the price was expensive, but when you consider all the factors, I believe it is quite reasonable. If you consider what Laughton brings and what he cost, and you compare that to what the much older Brayden Schenn brings and what the Blues were asking in exchange for him, you can easily understand why the Leafs went this route.
Overall, I give the Leafs get a solid A for this trade. While they have given up a first-round pick, they didn’t give up any of their top prospects and they ultimately got a very helpful player who fills a need at a reasonable price. When thinking about this move in the grander scheme of things, adding Scott Laughton has the potential to become one of the best moves Brad Treliving has pulled off during his tenure in Toronto.