PHILADELPHIA – Given the importance of Thursday night’s game against Winnipeg, it wouldn’t have seemed right for the Flyers to bench Scott Laughton, even if he was the object of trade rumors.
And even though it wasn’t coach John Tortorella’s to make (but rather general manager Daniel Briere’s), one gets the impression the bench boss would have stuck with Laughton either way.
Tortorella wanted his best lineup out there, albeit he believed it might be the alternate captain’s last game in an orange, white and black uniform.
The NHL trade deadline is Friday, 3 p.m.
“We’re going with the same lineup,” Tortorella said at Thursday morning’s pre-game skate at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J. “I don’t think about it. I coach each and every day. Whatever comes my way on my desk, we deal with it.”
The other Flyer mentioned prominently in trade rumors is defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
The Flyers have not held a rumored player out of the lineup since defenseman Justin Braun prior to the 2022 trade deadline. Braun eventually wound up getting traded to the New York Rangers.
He returned to the Flyers the following season as a free agent, which was his final season in the NHL.
As for possibly giving his input upstairs to sitting a player, Tortorella shook his head.
“Haven’t thought about it at all,” he said.
Laughton, who welcomed a new child to his family just last month, has been keeping his cool through this whole process. He’s been down this road several times and has learned to just go about his business.
“I haven’t heard anything, I haven’t had any conversations,” he said. “I mean pretty much status quo. Yeah, with all the rumors and stuff I think it feels maybe a little more real this year.”
The 30-year-old center/left wing has two years left on a five-year contract which pays him $3 million per season.
“Whatever happens, happens,” he said. “It hasn’t happened; it might not happen. You definitely think about what’s to come for you. Just try to stay in the moment. I think I’ve done a good job of that.”
Laughton has 11 goals/27 points this season and has 106 goals/265 points in 660 games with the Flyers.
“It’s kind of a nice thing it’s game day,” said Laughton, appreciative of the unintentional distraction. “I get to get ready for a game.”
In this day and age, it isn’t easy to see one’s name mentioned prominently in trade rumors on social media. Laughton does what he can to cope with that.
“I see it,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t say I’m checking it all the time. With a new-born, it’s not like you’re on your phone all that much. I see it pop up on my feed and everything like that, so I’m aware of it.
“And I think it’s kind of nice to be aware of it, to know what’s out there, even if they are just rumors. Just to know where you’re at, it’s your life at the end of the day and right now it’s status quo. I haven’t heard anything.”
>York inconsistent
Although Cam York has been a mainstay on the first defense pairing with Travis Sanheim for most of the season, Tortorella said the young player remains “inconsistent” in his play this season.
York was injured early in the season and that may have played into it.
“I’m not sure if it (inconsistency) was from the injury (shoulder),” Tortorella said. “I think he’s been terribly inconsistent. He blocks shots and all that stuff. It’s much appreciated. But I think he’s been inconsistent.”
York, 24, has played in 48 games this season with four goals/nine points and a minus-3. He’s one of only four Flyers defensemen in team history to record a double-digit goal total before age 23.
