VOORHEES, N.J. – Scott Laughton has been down this road before but no matter how many trips he’s made, it doesn’t get any easier.
With the NHL trade deadline coming up on Friday, March 7, the Flyers veteran center’s name has been popping up on a regular basis.
The 30-year-old Laughton is such a versatile player, with so much skill at both ends of the rink, it makes him an attractive target for the NHL’s serious contending teams.
Laughton, one of the most popular players in the Flyers’ locker room, has one more year ($3.0 million) after this one left on his contract, so he realizes he’s somewhat of a bargain for a team with its eye on the Stanley Cup.
No doubt Laughton would love to stay and see this rebuild through. But that decision is not in his hands but those of general manager Daniel Briere and team president Keith Jones.
“Yeah, there’s not much you can do,” Laughton said after Wednesday’s practice at the Flyers Training Center. “I’ve been through it before for the last couple years. I feel like every year your name is in it.
“You just go on about business as usual and I understand it’s a business. Danny and Jonesy have to do what’s best for the group and the future. I’m trying to help this team win and make a little push here. There’s a week left and we’ll see what happens.”
Laughton and 30-year-old defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen are the Flyer names most bandied about in trade speculation rumors.
Coach John Tortorella pointed out decisions on personnel are not his to make.
“You’ll have to talk to the people who make those, not me,” he said.
Laughton and Travis Konecny are alternate captains alongside captain Sean Couturier. This is the leadership group. Removing one of the pieces would be significant but sometimes moves have to be made.
“You’re always looking to improve your team,” Tortorella said. “We have to improve our team. Danny is listening because he has to listen. Because we’re in that stage where we have to improve.
“Scott is loved here. But you can’t fall off. You have to assess everything because we have to keep moving forward. You can’t keep saying ‘he’s a great guy in the room.’ If there’s a chance to get better, you have to do certain things.”
The past two seasons have been perhaps Laughton’s best since turning pro back in 2012-13 after he was a first-round (20th overall) pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Laughton posted a career-best 18 goals in 2022-23 and 13 the year after.
“I’m trying to help this team gain some leverage in the standings,” Laughton said of the Flyers, who have won three straight games but still stand five points out of a playoff spot.
Do the players feel as if being successful in the final four games before the deadline would change anything as far as the Flyers moving personnel?
“I’m not sure, that’s a better question for those guys (Briere and Jones),” Laughton said. “You want to be successful. Getting the guys back from injury has helped.”
The Flyers have already made one big trade, sending the also popular Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee to Calgary in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier. More changes could be on the way.
“You just try to keep the energy up,” Laughton said of the emotional void left by (the departure of) those two young veterans. “I think guys understand the business side of it. But it’s tough when those guys were drafted here, spent their whole careers here.
“It takes a little time but at the same time you have a job to do. You have to do it.”
The Flyers head into Thursday night’s game at Pittsburgh on a three-game winning streak, so that lowers the pre-trade deadline tension a bit.
“I think winning helps,” Laughton said. “That always lightens the mood a little bit, lightens the shoulders. Loosens up the stick a little bit.”
Laughton is also a realist. He understands the position the Flyers are in. The Flyers are still less than two years into their rebuild and there’s remains a lot of work to be done.
“If they have to make a move, they make a move,” Laughton said. “I’ll continue to do business as usual. I haven’t had any conversations yet, so we’ll go from there.”
As for Ristolainen, Tortorella had high praise.
“Most improved player since I’ve coached here,” the coach said. “He has size, right-handed shot, uses his legs. ‘Risto’ is a (trade) target. If you end up trading him, the day after the deadline you’re saying, ‘heck, we need a right-handed defenseman.’
“But you have to listen. If there’s something that really is a good situation for the timeframe we’re in with our team right now, I’m sure Danny is going to look really hard at it.”
Konecny, fresh off helping Canada win the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, goes along with that assessment.
“It’s just kind of in the position we’re in,” he said. “We’re kind of right there. We could make a push to get in. You just have to remember we’re still in the process of getting better. If something good comes up I’m sure they’re going to evaluate it and see if it’s the right fit for our team.”
