The Philadelphia Flyers are open for business – general manager Daniel Briere said it himself – and multiple names have been involved in recent trade rumors almost immediately after they pulled the trigger on the Ivan Provorov deal that sent him to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
As of just a couple days ago, one of those players is forward Scott Laughton.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, a whole bunch of teams have inquired about acquiring the 29-year-old forward from Philadelphia this offseason but it’s a tough balancing act for the Flyers.
“[Briere] made the big trade this week and then people started to call him a bit more. I heard at the combine that one of the names mentioned the most was Scott Laughton,” Friedman said during a Saturday broadcast. Teams are always looking for centers. I think the Flyers believe this: They’re turning the team over, they’re going to have a lot of young players, and you need good veterans around them. I think in a perfect world, I think they would like to keep Laughton, but – and this is a but – if they get the right price they’ll consider it.
“I’ve just heard that there have been a lot of teams calling about him.”
Laughton has three years remaining on his contract that carries a $3-million cap hit. He is one of the most versatile forwards on the Flyers roster and could certainly help a Stanley Cup contender secure their middle-six forward group or provide some stability lower down the lineup.
Simply put, this dude is good, but does he fit in with what the Flyers are doing?
As Friedman mentions, the Flyers would obviously love to keep him in a “perfect world” scenario – and we would personally like to have a player easy to cheer for on this team, as well – but if a team comes in with a Tanner Jeannot-like package of several draft picks because he’s a very good player that doesn’t cost a lot of money and is tied up to a contract for three more years, then it would be tough to say no. Especially considering that the Flyers will most likely not even sniff the playoffs during the remaining years on his contract.
In addition to Laughton’s name, recent reports have Carter Hart, Travis Konecny, Kevin Hayes, and Tony DeAngelo as current Flyers that could be traded to other teams in the next few weeks. The NHL Draft is taking place in just over two weeks and free agency just a few days after that. This is the time moves are made in the hockey calendar and now we’re just waiting to see what will happen to a whole lot of established players in Philadelphia.
