All eyes are on the Philadelphia Flyers this summer as general manager Daniel Briere and President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones help usher in a New Era of Orange.
That new era started off with a bang last week as the Flyers received multiple draft picks and a decent prospect in return for Ivan Provorov. Carter Hart has also been in trade rumors – for better or worse – and it’s hard to think of a player on the roster that the Flyers would hesitate to move for the right price. But there is one player.
That player — as you may have guessed from the article title — is Scott Laughton.
Laughton has had an arduous journey since being drafted 20th overall in 2012. The former top prospect was exiled to the AHL by Ron Hextall after a disappointing start to his NHL career. Laughton went to work with the Phantoms, carving out a nice role for himself and his value has seemingly increased with each passing season.
The Flyers had a chance to move on from Laughton a few years ago but Chuck Fletcher decided to sign the two-way forward to a five-year, $15 million extension at the 2021 trade deadline. It seemed like a year or two too long of a contract at the time but the $3 million cap hit is very manageable if the Flyers opt to trade him.
And that’s where the Flyers stand now. They’re at a fork in the road with Laughton.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported over the weekend that “one of the names mentioned the most was Scott Laughton” while a graphic saying that Laughton is “very popular” was shown on the screen.
“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,” Friedman continued. “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.”
Thomas Williams
Laughton is the prototypical Playoff Performer™. He’s a gritty, two-way forward that can play in all situations. Laughton has moved up and down the lineup with the Flyers and could do the same for a contender.
On the other hand, Laughton is a great guy for the Flyers to keep around to usher in the new era. While the Flyers didn’t name a captain, he is the only active player with an “A” on his jersey. He plays John Tortorella hockey and could be a great guy to instill a culture to build around.
The idea of trading Laughton isn’t necessarily a new one. I listed Laughton (along with Provorov and Hart) as three players the Flyers should trade but probably won’t at the deadline.
Here’s what I wrote back in February, which pretty much still holds true today:
There is the argument to be made that Laughton is someone that the Flyers can use as a steady presence in the lineup — their next captain, perhaps. However, that presence may not be as important as the picks and prospects the Flyers may be able to trade him for.
Tanner Jeannot is a perfect example. While the former Nashville forward is a bit younger (25) and scored 24 goals last year (on 19.4% shooting), Laughton can hold his own with 13 goals on the season and he wouldn’t cost as much.
The Lightning gave up a draft pick in each of the first five rounds (the first-rounder is conditional) for the pending RFA. For someone like Laughton with a proven work ethic and manageable $3 million cap hit through 2026? You’d hope that the Flyers could get a similar return, albeit a slightly lesser one.
Laughton isn’t necessarily one of the players that the Flyers should be shopping the most. He’s just someone that perhaps they should be listening on a bit more than they are.
The good news is that the Flyers do appear to be listening more on Laughton now that Briere is in charge, and the better news is that they should be in a win-win situation.
Option one is that they trade him. A team ponies up an offer that Briere deems acceptable and the Flyers add another pick, prospect, or some combination of both to the pipeline.
The Flyers could also simply keep Laughton. They’re in no rush to move him. His $3 million AAV is an afterthought given the other contracts on the books and the fact that the Flyers aren’t trying to compete in the near future. He’s a great guy in the locker room and has really embodied Philadelphia hockey.
On top of that, even if Briere elects to keep Laughton this offseason, he could be a valuable trade chip at future deadlines and offseasons.
Thomas Williams
Ryan Gilbert
