Laughton suffered a lower-body injury in the second-last game of the pre-season, but is set to get on the ice once again.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are going through a difficult stretch of games, but there was a piece of good news following the team's optional practice on Wednesday afternoon.
Scott Laughton, who's been out of the Maple Leafs' lineup with a lower-body injury since the second-last game of the pre-season, will begin skating again on Thursday. It'll be the first time he steps onto the ice since blocking a shot against the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 2.
"I think he'll probably be on the ice tomorrow. I think it might be his first day on the ice," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said on Wednesday. "I think he's trending really well. He's doing really well in that department. I expect him to get on the ice here, see how he feels, things are going well."
Laughton has been seen in a walking boot since suffering the lower-body injury. There was a lot of excitement within the team during training camp about Laughton's game following a strong summer.
He was acquired by the Maple Leafs at the trade deadline last spring in exchange for prospect Nikita Grebenkin and a conditional first-round pick in 2027. Laughton tallied two goals and two assists in 20 regular-season games before scoring two assists in 13 playoff games with Toronto.
The 31-year-old getting onto the ice means he's a step closer to returning to a Maple Leafs lineup, which, really, has been in a state of flux since he went down with the ailment.
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Berube has had a rotating door of wingers on the right side of Auston Matthews, and many more took a turn on Tuesday with no success.
Towards the end of Toronto's training camp, it appeared as though Easton Cowan would get the first look alongside Laughton and Steven Lorentz on the fourth line. The injury threw a wrench into those plans, with Berube starting the regular season with a fourth line of Lorentz, Nicolas Roy, and Calle Jarnkrok.
Roy was moved to the fourth line after Max Domi was shifted to the third line center spot. Nick Robertson and Jarnkrok appeared to be on the outside looking in during camp, but snuck into the season-opening lineup after Laughton's injury threw everything into a frenzy.
It wasn't until the third game of the season, against the Detroit Red Wings, that Cowan made his NHL debut. And it wasn't even on the fourth line. He was up on Toronto's top line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies.
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Cowan has played in four consecutive NHL games, but the coach feels the 20-year-old needs to watch a game from the press box.
Toronto has used a total of four different-looking fourth lines since their season-opener against the Montreal Canadiens. (Lorentz suffered an injury and missed a couple of games. He was a healthy scratch, too, which is why he's not in the lineup for games three through five.)
Game 1 vs. Montreal Canadiens: Lorentz - Roy - Jarnkrok
Game 2 vs. Detroit Red Wings: Lorentz-Roy-Jarnkrok
Game 3 vs. Detroit Red Wings: Joshua - Roy - Jarnkrok
Game 4 vs. Nashville Predators: Joshua - Roy - Jarnkrok
Game 5 vs. New York Rangers: Joshua - Roy - Jarnkrok
Game 6 vs. Seattle Kraken: Lorentz - Roy - Joshua
Game 7 vs. New Jersey Devils: Robertson - Lorentz - Jarnkrok
Another piece of information Berube revealed on Wednesday was that he's thinking about putting William Nylander with Knies and Matthews full-time on the top line. If he does that, Toronto's lineup will likely shift around again.
Nevertheless, Laughton getting onto the ice on Thursday is a good development for Toronto, a team that's struggling to find its identity early this season.
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