The Toronto Maple Leafs traded for center Scott Laughton back at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. The Philadelphia Flyers received Nikita Grebenkin and a conditional 2027 first-round pick from the Maple Leafs in this trade. At the time, Laughton made a lot of sense for Toronto, even if the price paid was rather steep for the 30-year-old center.
However, things have not worked out so far. Laughton, a native of the Toronto area, has not scored a point for his new club. Moreover, he has played to a minus-5 plus/minus rating thus far. While plus/minus certainly doesn’t tell the entire story, it does show that something is off with the veteran forward.
Much has been said about his struggles to this point. Some believe Laughton is trying too hard to impress the coaching staff and fans. But the veteran Maple Leafs forward pushed back against this idea while addressing his run of form on Monday.
“I’m not sure about that,” Laughton said, via NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger. “I mean, I think I always put pressure on myself. I think you have to a little bit in this league. I’m pretty self-aware of what’s going on, and I’ve been in the League long enough to know when you’re going and when you need to pick it up. So yeah, I’m pretty aware of that. You just take it in stride.”
Maple Leafs’ Scott Laughton discusses facing Flyers for first time
Laughton spent his entire career with the Flyers prior to the trade to the Maple Leafs. The 30-year-old made his debut with Philadelphia in 2013. He went on to skate in 661 games for the franchise. The Toronto area native scored 106 goals and 265 points with the Flyers prior to this trade.
Spending so much time with one organization creates some extremely deep ties. This is still on display even eight games into his Toronto tenure. Laughton has strong connections to his former teammates. And those connections are sure to make Tuesday’s matchup a rather difficult one for the 30-year-old.
“It’s probably going to be weird and emotional,” Laughton said after practice Monday. “And yeah, it’s going to feel different for sure, especially happening so quickly after [the trade]. Just hopefully going to beat them,” the Maple Leafs forward said, via Zeisberger.
The Maple Leafs are hoping to win the Atlantic Division in 2025. Two points against the Flyers would be a massive boost to their odds of achieving that goal. A big performance from Laughton against his former club would certainly be welcomed on Tuesday night.
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