Flyers can’t afford to trade ‘glue guy’ Laughton
The NHL trade deadline looms March 8. Scott Laughton is the Flyers’ juiciest asset. He’s a versatile, tough center. He’s 29, and he’s under contract for the next two seasons at a very affordable price. The Flyers are committed to a rebuild, so he’s got to go … Right?
Wrong.
They can’t afford to lose him. Not now. Not yet.
This has nothing to do with the team standing third in the Metropolitan Division at 65 points and with 29 wins, just two fewer than their total last season, but with 26 games to play. It has everything to do with being the cornerstone of a franchise rocked by a plague of injuries, stunning front-office turnover, hair-trigger coaching changes, and, most recently, its franchise goalie, Carter Hart, facing trial for sexual assault.
The one constant: Scott Laughton.
“Especially the last couple of years, he’s been our ‘glue guy,’ ” Sean Couturier said.
Rebuilding teams need a “glue guy.” A guy who can play with anybody, can do every job, can answer every question, can deal with every mood of a very moody coach. John Tortorella refused to name a captain until last week, when Couturier got the “C.” Laughton carried an “A” as an alternate … to no one. But he served as the de facto captain through turmoil and controversy. Laughton’s value to the Flyers lies far deeper than any stat on any sheet.
While Laughton has never produced more than the 18 goals and 25 assists he tallied last season, and while he won’t come close to those numbers this year, he’s as big a reason as any that the Flyers’ rebuild is a year or two ahead of schedule. Certainly, the Flyers would be lesser without the return of Couturier from back surgery, the ascension of Travis Konecny from rink rat to All-Star, the unexpected contribution of goalie Sam Errson in the absence of Hart, and the eerily steady hand of a mellowed Tortorella.
But last season, when Tortorella inherited a team that had just traded Claude Giroux, its captain and its second-best player ever, Tortorella preached culture change. With the Flyers’ world spiraling toward hockey’s gutter, Laughton delivered intangibles that created that culture.
“We’re so lucky to have him,” said defenseman Travis Sanheim. “A lot of teams would love to have guys like that on their roster. Those are hard guys to replace. They do so much. They’re good in the [dressing] room. They can play anywhere in your lineup. They can play both special teams.”
Plenty of teams could use a depth piece like Laughton, including his hometown club, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the nearby Buffalo Sabres, and the Colorado Avalanche. If they come knocking, the Flyers have to make it hurt. Laughton is a former firstrounder. It should take a firstround pick for the Flyers to even begin talking about moving him.
Why? Because he’s worth far more to the rebuilding Flyers than he would be to another club.
Hidden value: He’s more than the glue. He’s the rock; he has played for six coaches. He is the culture; he has played for four general managers, and he has played with the current GM, Danny Brière. He is continuity; he played his first game for the Flyers at age 18. He’s the guy who knows everybody’s problems with their dads or their girlfriends or the coach or the front office, and he knows how to solve them.
Got a question about what you should wear on a trip? How much cash you should bring? How to deal with the coach? Go see Laughts.
“He’s always the guy you’re coming to for questions off the ice,” Konecny said.
New guys arrive wet behind the ears or grizzled by the years, wondering where they should live, or maybe where they should eat. Laughts is your man.
“I take a lot of pride in making guys feel comfortable around the rink,” Laughton said. “I do that not only for younger guys [but] guys who get traded here.”
When the Flyers run their summer camp for prospects in July, Laughton could be cooling back in Canada. Instead, he roasts in South Jersey for five days, an informal ambassador for the longest of shots.
“There’s so much stuff [the public] doesn’t see,” Joel Farabee said. “In the summer, when the young guys come in, he’s always here at development camp. He’s always talking to young guys — guys who aren’t even playing for the Flyers.”
The tension in the room making the young guys too tight to function? Laughton’s the pressure valve.
“He’s the loudest in the room,” Morgan Frost said. “He’s making everyone laugh all the time.”
He’s not laughing much as the deadline approaches.
Reality bites:
Trade rumors can
be toxic.
“I think about it at home,” Laughton admitted Tuesday. “My wife and I, we’ve built a life here. When you’re in the same place for 10 years, it becomes home. It’s probably more home than Toronto for me. I spent most of my life here. I’ve grown to feel very loyal to the Flyers.”
He preaches loyalty to the community, too, and encourages young players to use their voices. Laughton has been a fearless champion for LGBTQ+ causes as well as the Ronald McDonald House, which originated in Philadelphia.
But every city has issues to champion. What if a team with a better chance to win wants him? He shrugged.
“The way we’re going this year, I want to be a part of this,” he said, noting that the team has won just one playoff series in his career and hasn’t seen the postseason since 2020. “It probably hasn’t been the best stretch since I’ve been here the last four or five years, but we’re on the way up. The room is a big piece of that. We’re starting to build out on the ice, too. I’m proud of that.”
Laughton and his wife, Chloe, own a home in South Jersey. She has a job there. They have their green cards. Unlike athletes from the other Philly teams, but like so many Flyers transplanted from Canada or Europe or other parts of America, Laughton hopes to live the rest of his life in the Philadelphia area.
“Right now, that’s the plan,” Laughton said. “We’ve built something here not a lot of guys are able to do around the league.”
He’s built it by playing 575 games for the Flyers, 26th all-time. That’s more than Eric Lindros, Paul Holmgren, Mike Richards, Mikael Renberg, or Brière. Laughton is well aware of where he stands.
“I know. It’s pretty cool. I always joke with ‘Coots’ about it, him being the longest-tenured guy here,” Laughton said. “To be a part of an organization like this … it’s pretty special. Something I don’t take for granted.”
Let’s hope the Flyers don’t take him for granted.
“He really brings the group together,” Farabee said. “We love having him around. He means so much to this group.
“He’s a true Flyer.”