Reasonable people can disagree on the wisdom of Laughton’s extension, but rather than argue the merits of Laughton as a player, it is more important to understand the deal in terms of strategy, what it signaled and its long-term implications. It was a big deal, it was the day the Flyers committed to the core they had, a core they thought could go to the cup or one that would break them whilst trying.
While I don’t have incriminating Comcast texts or Chuck Fletcher’s laptop, the evidence of the mind set was made stunningly clear by their actions. Would any reasonable general manager keep Laughton if he suspected the team was going to be just as bad the next season? Laughton, as a soon to be UFA, could have re-signed with the Flyers after a trade. The fact that Laughton was even offered a contract is an admission that the best minds at Comcast were convinced the Flyers would be better in 2021-2022.
Laughton will never be more valuable as a trade chip than he was at the 2021 deadline. He had a year remaining on a contract worth just below 2 million a year. General Manager Chuck Fletcher had admitted he was listening to offers for Laughton, meaning there was a market.
It would be fair to reason, that just by playing the percentages, the fact that only two teams make the cup finals, the team would likely be better moving Laughton, clearing the space and getting some assets they could repurpose if they did make a cup run. It was a make or break move, for a nice, but not invaluable, player. The signing took away organizational flexibility, it is the type that is made by a front office that is certain it can contend, or one that is desperate.
This should have been the first clue that the crew at Comcast, and Chuck Fletcher were going to play this hand. Laughton is not a make or break player, and this contract in the grand scheme is not make or break either. But it was the start of the Flyers boxing themselves in. In Texas Hold’em terms, signing Laughton was matching the big blind. Paying to stay in the hand because it has a chance to lay out. Did this group of players represent a pair of threes, or pocket aces as the hole card?