It sounds like a Scott Laughton trade is likely going to happen ahead of the trade deadline but with the Philadelphia Flyers‘ asking price still being sky-high, they’re pitted in a game of chicken with several interested teams circling.
Before the 4 Nations Face-Off, Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff dropped a juicy nugget that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets were the two teams most interested in getting a deal done for Laughton.
The Flyers have been staunch with their asking price of a first-round pick for the veteran forward and seem content with not budging and potentially taking it into the offseason. The only problem now is that if that is the case, the Flyers lose out on a massive bargaining chip with Laughton playing on an expiring contract next season.
Frank Seravalli talked about the Laughton situation on Tuesday and mentioned that the Jets have tabled a second-round pick for Laughton but that the Flyers are still asking for a first-round pick.
Toronto is also still in the mix and Philadelphia will give him up to the first team that gives them exactly what they’re asking for. However, considering the Flyers’ ask for prospect Fraser Minten was rejected by the Maple Leafs a month ago as reported by David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, it’s hard to gauge whether or not they’re a viable partner.
He also mentioned that Toronto is willing to move off of their top prospects and 2026 first-round pick but are looking for a more substantial player.
What helps the Flyers’ situation is that a lot of teams are looking for centre depth and once the bigger names fall off the board, they will start to intensify their efforts for Laughton.
The problem is that their asking price is in line with what the New York Islanders might be asking for in exchange for Brock Nelson and what the St. Louis Blues are looking for in exchange for Brayden Schenn. Both players are upgrades over Laughton but Nelson is a pending UFA this summer and Schenn holds a $6.5 million AAV until 2028.
Teams like Minnesota and Detroit might jump into the fray with injuries piling up. The Wild have placed Joel Eriksson Ek on IR and he is expected to miss substantial time due to the injury, whereas the Red Wings announced that Andrew Copp will be out for the next 4-6 months.
The Red Wings have a surplus of cap space heading into the trade deadline and will be looking to make the postseason for the first time since 2015-16. The Wild are currently third in the Central Division and even if they fall back into a Wild Card spot, they have enough breathing room, but don’t want to tempt fate with Kirill Kaprizov also out long-term.
We can also now add New Jersey and Ottawa into the mix as reported by Di Marco. The Senators have been linked to Laughton for almost as long as Toronto and there were discussions being had over the last two years with the Flyers having had reported interest in Shane Pinto and Tyler Boucher at the time.
With teams having gone from a first round pick to a second round pick, it almost seems like the Flyers missed several opportunities to trade Laughton for exactly what they wanted. However, because they waited and played this senseless game of chicken, the price of acquisition has dropped and rightfully so.
Ahead of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the Flyers were reportedly offered a first-round pick but decided against it, and it was mentioned that the same thing took place last year but they rejected it because they were looking for two first-round picks.
They’ve now returned to their original asking price of a first round but could be looking for something extra as well. With the Jets reportedly tabling a second-round pick, it will be interesting to see if anyone tops that offer. At this rate you’re going to need more teams outside of Toronto and Winnipeg to jumpstart a bidding war but more teams are getting involved as we speak.
The trade deadline is just 8 days away (March 7th) so one would expect for trade talks to intensify. Laughton is a name that a lot of teams have interest in but it boils down to Daniel Brière’s poker face and whether or not he can get exactly what he’s asking for – like he did with Sean Walker – or if he decides to budge.
The Flyers are completely enamoured with Laughton the human being as much as they are with Laughton the player. This is a decision they’ve pushed aside for years because of how much they value off-ice intangibles but with a supposed rebuild in motion, these are the types of moves you have to make.
Laughton having just one more year on his contract at just $3 million against the cap helps a lot, especially with teams against the cap this year. So there is still a chance the Flyers can get that coveted first-round pick and according to sources they aren’t picky about whether it’s a 2025 or 2026 pick, since they already have 3 for this upcoming draft.
Similar to Claude Giroux in 2022, the writing is seemingly plastered against the wall and the 12-year veteran might be playing in his final games as a member of the Flyers over the next week.
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