Philadelphia Flyers fans probably saw a pair of trades coming, but now that they’ve occurred, reality has set in. If you’re just now checking out what general manager Daniel Briere did today, his moves included sending Scott Laughton to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Andrei Kuzmenko to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Laughton deal was a long time coming, and, unsurprisingly, the Flyers got a top-10 protected first-round pick in 2026. Philadelphia will retain 50 percent of Laughton’s contract, and they also sent a fourth and sixth-round pick. They also acquired Nikita Grebenkin in the trade.
Laughton should immediately contribute to the Maple Leafs bottom-six, and they may finally have someone who could help prevent such a massive drop-off after their top-six. Laughton isn’t the best points-producer in the world, but he’s the type of defensive forward you want on your playoff hockey team and a physical one at that.
Laughton got some Selke votes last season and over the past two years, he’s racked up 284 body checks. Yeah, Laughton would’ve been great for the Flyers had they been contenders again this year, but it made far more sense to move the long-tenured forward.
Flyers sent Andrei Kuzmenko packing in a predictable deal
Andrei Kuzmenko wasn’t meant to wear the orange sweater long, and he went to Southern California along with a seventh-round pick plus 50 percent retention on his contract for a 2027 third-rounder.
With five points and two goals in seven appearances, Andrei Kuzmenko provided some good top-six minutes in what ultimately became a cameo appearance with the Flyers. Had he been a couple of years younger, then Kuzmenko could’ve been part of this brewing core, but that was never meant to be.
Still, trading away Kuzmenko without making an effort to re-sign him to a contract extension tells me that the Flyers are in this rebuild and playing the long game at that. But that’s okay, since there’s a lot to like here, stemming from Travis Konecny to Travis Sanheim, Owen Tippett, Matvei Michkov, Bobby Brink, and Tyson Foerster, to name a few.
Overall, it’s a good group that just doesn’t have experience winning consistently. But that doesn’t mean their time isn’t coming, and they could be trending north sooner rather than later. That said, trading their older talents and hanging onto their many youngsters, along with what’s next in the rebuild, should have the entire NHL on notice.
Philadelphia Flyers are ready to move to the next stage of rebuild
As things currently stand, the Flyers will have three first-round picks in 2025 and four in the second round. That’s huge for an organization whose general manager is looking to build what could transform into the NHL’s best prospects pool.
And with so many players at the NHL level playing good hockey already, fans should be in for a lot of fun in the years ahead. No, not every prospect will stick around, but once Briere gets the Flyers to the point that they’re winning consistently, he can move some of those prospects for proven talents.
It’s a genius mentality for a team that hasn’t won a Stanley Cup in 50 seasons, and for fans who embrace the orange and black, a light’s shining at the end of this dark tunnel. Yeah, it’s been painful, but hey, the long game is rarely a picnic.