After being acquired to help a playoff push just one year ago, Oakville native Scott Laughton now faces the reality of being traded away from his hometown team as the Maple Leafs shift from buyers to sellers.
One year ago, Scott Laughton’s name came up in trade rumors on a regular basis before the veteran forward was traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the contending Toronto Maple Leafs. One year later, Laughton finds himself in an identical and unexpected scenario.
“I didn't think I'd probably be in this situation,” Laughton said following Toronto’s morning skate ahead of their game against the Ottawa Senators. “It’s tough to think about, but at the same time, you got to come in and do a job to the best of your ability. I want to be in the fight with these guys.”
Laughton is one of a handful of players that has come up in trade rumors as the Maple Leafs moved from contenders with Stanley Cup aspriations to a team struggling to stay in a playoff race. Although they won their last three games before the Olympic break began earlier this month, Toronto has sputtered to a pair of spirit-crushing losses against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, moving to a 27-23-9 record.
Those outcomes made it clear to anyone who might have been on the fence that Toronto should become sellers, not buyers, for the Mar. 6 NHL trade deadline. Laughton, who is a pending unrestricted free agent, comes with a manageable $1.5 million salary cap hit to a willing team.
While the Oakville native has stated he prefers to stay, figuring out a number and term for the 31-year-old hasn’t been easy, particularly for a team where he regularly suits up as the fourth-line center. In the meantime, Laughton has been counted on to lift the spirits of the group. He will continue to push for that while dealing with the noise that comes with trade rumors, even if that noise is louder now that he plays for his hometown team.
“I've been in the rumors, I don't know, as long as I can remember, so it's always there, and you try and kind of clear your mind,” Laughton said. “At the end of the day, it is your life. It's where you live. It's where your family is, and it's different when you have a family now. I'm just going to continue to try and play my game, help these guys the best I can, and hopefully I'm here.”
Laughton has recorded eight goals and three assists in 41 games this season while averaging 13:42 of ice time per game.