Good for Scott Laughton.
If the plan all along was to trade the popular Flyers veteran, they couldn’t have picked a better place than Toronto and its Maple Leafs.
First, Laughton is going home again, not only to Canada and Ontario but to a place not far from his hometown of Oakville.
Second, he gets to play again for Craig Berube, who was his coach on the Flyers some 10 years ago. The two seemed to hit it off in Philadelphia and one can expect that positive relationship to continue down this tension-filled stretch run.
And finally, he will be able to play some meaningful hockey again, this time for a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
Not that Laughton wanted to leave Philadelphia but if he had to go somewhere, it might as well have been a location with the right set of circumstances.
Toronto has just everything a hockey town has to offer. It has a rabid fan base, even if the Maple Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967.
Laughton’s style of play will go over big in the biggest city north of the border. He can kill penalties, knows how to protect a one-goal lead in the third period and can keep a tense locker room a bit looser with his witty one-liners.
Plus, he does so much work in the community to help those in the community less fortunate, he’s bound to be a popular figure once he’s established himself in the city’s ethos.
The thing about Laughton is he’s appreciated for more than his basic hockey talent. He’s just a great guy to be around. Perhaps that’s why they called him “Captain Canada” way back in his 2014 World Junior Championship playing days when he wore the C even though he competed on the team’s fourth line.
You see, it wasn’t so much about just putting the puck in the net but seeing the whole 200-foot ice surface.
For instance, Laughton led the NHL in shorthanded points last season with eight and was a big reason why the Flyers led the league with 16 shorthanded goals. It’s a given a shorthanded goal can turn around the momentum of a game so it’s easy to see why the Flyers were in a playoff spot for 124 days before a late-season slump dropped them out of the chase.
General manager Daniel Briere said the final goodbye wasn’t easy.
“Emotional, from both sides,” Briere said. “Personally, I played with Scott. He was a teammate when he started in the league. It was emotional for him, probably even more, leaving everything he knows behind. This is the only NHL team he’s played for, this is his family.
“I think he had a lot of different emotions all at once. On one side, you feel like you’re losing something. On the flip side, the opportunity is exciting for him. It was a weird moment for a few minutes.”
And this from a veteran Flyers beat writer, who’s watched a number of players pass this way: No one approaches the game with more honesty, more emotion and more wit than No. 21. He’s been a joy to work with and one can wish him nothing but the best in the next step for his outstanding career.
