Philadelphia Flyers: 5 Trade Packages for Scott Laughton

The Philadelphia Flyers’ firesale continues, but this time trade rumors have started to swirl around veteran forward Scott Laughton. 

Before puck drop on Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported on the broadcast that Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton was a popular name this week at the NHL combine. Friedman added that Daniel Briere and the Flyers would likely prefer to keep Laughton around as a mentor for their up-and-coming group of players, but would also feel obligated to sell on the 29 year old if the right offer is made to them.

Scott Laughton is an attractive piece to teams for a variety of reasons. Chief among those is Laughton’s versatility as a player – he’s played all three forward positions for the Philadelphia Flyers. In addition, Laughton has term on his contract. He’s entering the third year of the five-year, $15 million contract he signed prior to the 2021-2022 season. Anthony Di Marco of The Fourth Period added that the Flyers have already rejected late first-round picks in offers for Laughton, which suggests that the Flyers are looking to move up further into the first round, even without a second-round pick.

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ new President of Hockey Operations Kyle Dubas has an interesting challenge that lies ahead of him. The Penguins still have Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Jake Guentzel, but the Penguins’ star trio is closer to the end of their careers than the beginning, and Guentzel is one year from unrestricted free agency. Ideally, Dubas keeps the Penguins in playoff contention whilst building towards the future, something ex-GM Ron Hextall didn’t come close to achieving. After all, the Penguins would have taken the Florida Panthers’ playoff spot had they not sensationally choked against two of the very worst teams in the entire NHL in their last two games of the year. That’s not something a guy like Sidney Crosby would forget about heading into next season.

With the 14th overall pick, the Philadelphia Flyers vault into pole position to draft a slider, like Zach Benson, or another lower-end top-tier talent, to compliment their choice at pick seven. Scott Laughton is a great player, but he’s no superstar either. Using Laughton to move up eight spots in a draft like this is a small price to pay for a potential game-changer. On the flip side, Kyle Dubas gets a versatile veteran forward at a team-friendly price without compromising the Pittsburgh Penguins’ future. They desperately need to start preparing for life after Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.

Much like the Philadelphia Flyers, it seems like the Ottawa Senators mean business this offseason, too. After being linked or named fits for Flyers like Kevin Hayes and Carter Hart, why not go for the hat-trick? Right now, the Ottawa Senators are exploring trade options for one of their own players – Alex DeBrincat – in a blockbuster trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. DeBrincat is definitely leaving Ottawa, and after just one 61-point season, the Senators need to maximize their return on the embattled sniper.

At the end of the day, the Ottawa Senators are in a position to win now. But, to do so, they need to become less rough around the edges. Their goaltending was really bad, they didn’t have the appropriate depth to fill in for Josh Norris when he was hurt, and they had very limited depth scoring in general. To check those boxes, the Senators reunite Claude Giroux with some of his buddies from Philadelphia.

The Flyers gain a young star talent whom the Senators are looking to sell low on, and add two solid young prospects to help fill out the bottom of their roster. The biggest win for the Flyers however, is holding on to both of their first rounders here. The Senators do not have a first-round pick in either of the next two drafts, but with Drake Batherson, Brady Tkachuk, and Tim Stutzle all 25 or younger, that’s not a major concern for them right now. The buyouts of Bobby Ryan and Matt Murray will be off the Senators’ books after this year, so they’ll have even more money to play with later on. It’s unclear whether or not Alex DeBrincat would be willing to come play in Philly, which this entire trade hinges on, but if he is, there’s no way Daniel Briere could say no to this.

Much like the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Nashville Predators also narrowly missed out on the playoffs – the Winnipeg Jets had 95 points and the Preds finished with 92. Like the Jets, the Predators have a rockstar goalie who was let down by his coach and his teammates. Veteran Predators stars like Ryan Johansen, Matt Duchene, Roman Josi, Juuse Saros, and Filip Forsberg are all going to be coming out of their athletic primes, so it would be wise for the Predators to upgrade in a weak Western Conference without compromising their future endeavors.

The 24th overall pick might not be as high of a pick as Daniel Briere might be hoping to get in exchange for Scott Laughton, but it’s fair value at the end of the day. Laughton is a decent player who offers a lot, but he’s just not a star. The 2022-23 season was the only such season in which Laughton surpassed 40 points. Laughton’s previous career-high was just 32, back in the 2018-19 season. The Nashville Predators just poached their new head coach Andrew Brunette from the New Jersey Devils, and Brunette’s first order of business should be asking Barry Trotz for an upgrade for his third line. Center Tommy Novak had a breakout season with 43 points in just 51 games, but teammates Yakov Trenin and Colton Sissons combined for just 54 in 77 and 82 games played, respectively.

The Predators’ top-six appears set with Forsberg, Johansen, Duchene, and the likes of breakout phenoms Cody Glass, Luke Evangelista, and Phil Tomasino, but the rest of their forward group needs a facelift. After giving away former first-round pick Eeli Tolvanen on waivers, the Predators can’t afford anymore slip-ups as they seek to remain in playoff contention. It would be wise for the Preds to target a safe bet like the Philadelphia Flyers’ Scott Laughton.

A trade between two rivals? Never say never. The New York Rangers are currently facing a cap crunch and have just $11.7 million to sign free agents like Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexis Lafreniere, K’Andre Miller, and Tyler Motte. While not totally impossible, it’s unlikely the Rangers retain all five of these players. Instead, they might look to swap one out for a player on a friendly deal.

The first overall pick in the 2020 draft is coming off of his best season as a pro, but that doesn’t mean he’s living up to his potential. After the Rangers were eliminated in the first round and with Lafreniere scoring zero points in that round, the Rangers need something to change. For his career, Lafreniere is averaging just 14:25 of ice time, and just started getting consistent power-play minutes this season; it’s hard to fault him for his lack of development. Still, the Rangers can’t afford to bumble around with Lafreniere while other teams pass them by in the playoffs. Lafreniere would get a boat load of minutes in Philadelphia alongside Sean Couturier and the rest of the Flyers, and might finally see something click for him offensively.

Lafreniere is a restricted free agent this year, and the Rangers might be better off paying his money to someone else. Scott Laughton can play up and down the lineup and in different situations, and has a cap hit of just $3 million in each of the next three seasons. Laughton is also cheaper, younger, and more effective than Barclay Goodrow, who is also a a trade candidate this summer. The New York Rangers might also be willing to introduce Peterborough Petes star and former 16th overall pick Brennan Othmann to their lineup. This year, Othmann became an OHL Champion, won a gold medal with Canada in the U20 World Junior Championship, and was named to the OHL All-Star third team. In the playoffs with Peterborough, Othmann had 25 points in 23 games, and seems like a natural fit in the Big Apple.

Whatever the return, it’s clear Daniel Briere and the Flyers value Scott Laughton a lot. Although he’s not a star, Laughton might be worth keeping unless the price is right.