Scott Laughton reportedly receiving trade interest

After Danny Briere has shown that virtually no one is untouchable, Scott Laughton is popping up in trade rumors the Flyers veteran forward has teams calling.

The season of trade rumors is upon us as all sorts of names are being thrown around. The Flyers have plenty of players being talked about in recent weeks. Danny Briere has already made a big splash with the trade of once thought to be franchise defenseman Ivan Provorov.

Then, of course, came the rumors of a potential deal involving Carter Hart. Those have quieted down significantly, though. It is clear, however, that anyone can be bought for the right price.

”I’m still in the same spot I was. We’re open for business. We listen on everybody. Everybody’s being treated the same way for us on our side.” Briere said after the Provorov trade.

That now seems to include veteran forward Scott Laughton. Drafted by the Flyers in 2012, Laughton has played in Philadelphia his entire career. And he seems to be getting better with age after posting a career-high in all offensive categories as he just turned 29 at the end of May. He thrived under John Tortorella’s system and became a go-to player in all situations.

So much in fact that Tortorella had to limit his minutes toward the end of the season in order to give other players opportunities. It’s evident that Laughton commands plenty of respect in the Flyers’ locker room. He was the only player to have a letter on his jersey this past season. It goes deeper than that, though. Laughton embodies what it means to be a Flyer.

He not only competes on the ice, but off the ice as well. Him and his wife, Chloe, have numerous endeavors in the Philadelphia community. Laughton, the Flyers King Clancy nominee, has long been involved with the local Ronald McDonald House. He was a key factor in getting all of his teammates matched up with local organizations. And he, along with James van Riemsdyk, showed their support to the LGBTQ+ community with the Flyers Pride initiative.

Other teams have certainly taken notice of what Laughton brings to the table. Teams are looking more at the hockey side of what he can do, but his charitable effort off the ice shows how much he immerses himself into the community of where he is playing.

Could the Flyers actually trade Scott Laughton?

It would be a surprise to see the Flyers move Laughton this off-season. He has a reasonable cap hit of $3M for the next three seasons. And while Philadelphia is moving toward the younger side, a team still needs to have some veterans around to lead the way.

And that’s exactly what Laughton does. He is someone that a younger player, like Noah Cates, can learn from. Cates said just that at the end of the season about being able to learn from someone like Laughton when they played on the same line together.

Anything is possible, of course. There are certainly teams around the league who could see Laughton as that extra depth piece that can be slotted into multiple places in the lineup. He has shown his versatility as a center or a wing, or as someone who can play on the first line or even fourth line.

A player with that type of flexibility is always a welcomed commodity. It will come down to whether or not the Flyers feel that Laughton can be a part of their core moving forward. And it’s all about what a team might be offering to pry Laughton away.

Everyone can be traded for the right price so we’ll see if the rumors on Laughton heat up or if it’s just another summer of rumors that don’t come to fruition.