The Flyers have stood pat so far with Friday's NHL trade deadline rapidly approaching.
Scott Laughton has interest among playoff teams looking for one more center, but nothing has pushed general manager Danny Brière to make a deal yet.
The patience appears to be setting a greater market, though, and a higher price tag.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the mix for Laughton, Sportsnet league insider Elliotte Freidman told Wednesday night's NHL on TNT broadcast during a trade deadline segment – a few other clubs, too.
Said Friedman:
"Well, I think Scott Laughton is one of the guys [the Leafs] were looking at. If you look at the trade Tampa made today where they got two firsts, I think that guaranteed that Philadelphia is going to ask for a first for Laughton…
"And Laughton, they have other competition for. I think Winnipeg's been in there. I think New Jersey's in there, and I think Washington's in there, too, on Laughton as a kind of fit, potentially, for them." [NHL on TNT]
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) joined the boys pregame to talk all things trade deadline, including the Devils post-Jack Hughes plans, Mikko Rantanen's availability, the Leafs deadline plans and much, much more ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Ll2k4qNBS3
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) March 6, 2025
That aforementioned Tampa trade was made earlier Wednesday, when the Lightning sent Seattle two first-round draft picks (2026, 2027), a 2025 second-round pick, and forward Michael Eyssimont to Seattle for forwards Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand in a three-team trade that also pulled in Detroit.
Tampa Bay parted with a pretty substantial future haul, which, when coupled with the Oilers sending Boston a 2025 second-rounder for depth center Trent Frederic, may have just boosted Brière and the Flyers' leverage in any potential deal.
Also possibly working in the Flyers' favor in any talks is that Laughton is under contract for next season at a cap hit of $3 million. If a deal were to get done, he wouldn't be a rental for any team making a bid.
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