The Philadelphia Flyers have surprised many on the ice this season, going into the All-Star break with a 25-19-6 record, enough for third in the Metropolitan Division. While you would expect the Flyers would be interested in making a purchase before the March 8th trade deadline, this is not the case. Daniel Briere, general manager, intends to engage in some wheeling and dealing. This involves listening to trade proposals for experienced centre Scott Laughton.
TSN’s Darren Dreger provided the initial insider information. He said, “The Centre market is relatively thin.” As a result, the @NHLFlyers are taking calls on Scott Laughton. They’re not looking to trade him, but Danny Briere is monitoring interest.”
According to Dreger, the NHL’s centre market is extremely shallow, especially since the trade of Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks. It could be a prudent move for Briere to sell Laughton and reap a significant profit.
The 29-year-old pivot has just five goals and 20 points in 50 games this season, but he had a career season in 2022-23, scoring 18 goals and 43 points. He’s under contract for two more seasons at $3 million AAV. He also has no trade protection and is free to move at any time.Laughton has always been renowned as a hard-nosed forward who enjoys playing both sides of the puck and being efficient in his own zone, but that has not been the case this season. His underlying metrics are concerning, as his 44.2% Corsi For rating at five-on-five puts him second-last on the Flyers. He’s also winning less than half of his faceoffs, with 49.7% entering the intermission.The Flyers have been busy recently, adding Ryan Poehling and Owen Tippett to multi-year contracts, so there’s no doubt the core is changing in Philadelphia. It won’t be long before a new leadership group emerges. That is where Laughton has been so vital to the franchise. He possesses the intangibles and attributes required to lead a team, be a voice in the room, and consistently play hard. He accomplishes all of this regardless of where the Flyers have placed in the standings throughout time. Laughton is recognised as a character player, and a competitive club could easily fit him into the third-line centre position. They’d probably be pretty pleased with the return.
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