The Maple Leafs are probably regretting giving Nikita Grebenkin away to the Flyers so soon. (Photo: Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/717c5ae9-2f17-47c0-a89e-79f83e24bc72.jpeg] The Maple Leafs are probably regretting giving Nikita Grebenkin away to the Flyers so soon. (Photo: Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images) Make no mistake about it: the Philadelphia Flyers have officially fleeced the Toronto Maple Leafs, robbing them blind in NHL trade deadline Scott Laughton trade. By adding budding Russian winger Nikita Grebenkin [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/players/nikita-grebenkin-continuing-torrid-start-to-life-in-flyers-organization] and a 2027 first-round pick, the Flyers continue to look the part of a talent-hoarding, up-and-coming franchise. The Maple Leafs? Well, a brutal 6-1 Game 7 loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday night has more than likely ended the reign of the 'Core 4' in Toronto, especially given that superstar forward Mitch Marner is set to test free agency [https://puckpedia.com/player/mitchell-marner] this summer for the first time in his career. Marner had just one point across the Maple Leafs' final four games with Toronto's big guns once again left to do all of the heavy lifting offensively. Laughton, an Ontario native, did not provide much of tangible value to the Maple Leafs after the Flyers swapped him and some inconsequential picks for Grebenkin and a 2027 first. The beloved former Flyers forward scored just two goals, two assists, and four points in 20 regular season games, and managed to add just two assists across 13 playoff games. No goals, just two assists. And while Laughton individually was not exactly a disaster, the Maple Leafs still cannot pay the Flyers what they did in the trade and come away from it with zero playoff goals. After all, Laughton had five goals, four assists, and nine points in 15 playoff games back in 2019-20, the last time the Flyers made the playoffs. With Marner and, potentially, John Tavares out the door this summer, the Maple Leafs are going to need scoring (and depth at every position) in short order. Laughton is not giving them that, while the Flyers are laughing to the bank [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/flyers-offseason-dream-marco-rossi-trade-scenario-just-became-a-real-possibility] with a stud prospect with NHL experience and a first-round pick that could have otherwise been used in a trade to reel in a bigger fish. Comparatively speaking, former Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand cost the Panthers a first-round pick to acquire now that they have made it past the second round. Marchand had a goal and two assists to ice the Leafs in Game 7. In short, there's a big difference in what the Maple Leafs sought to do and what the Flyers and Panthers ultimately did. The Maple Leafs had their lunch money taken in the Laughton deal, and now that they're staring down a mass exodus of star talent, the Flyers' new 2027 first-round pick is looking mighty good right now.
