Elliotte Friedman brought up Scott Laughton’s name in during the Saturday Headlines report and noted that a number of teams have shown interest in the forward ahead of Monday’s NHL Trade Deadline. However, Laughton has let the Philadelphia Flyers know that he’d liked to stay with the team and reports are now that the two sides are grinding things out and trying to get an extension in place before Monday.
Friedman says the Flyers would like to keep him and adds, “we’ll see if they can close this one out over the next 48 hours.”
Friedman also notes that the Buffalo Sabres are trying to extend Linus Ullmark instead of trading him and the Los Angeles Kings are working on an Alex Iafallo contract extension which might not see him moved at the deadline either.
As for Laughton, the Toronto Maple Leafs were linked and looking to fill their third line center spot. It will be interesting to see who they target if Laughton is no longer available. Chris Johnston reports that perhaps the Leafs could go after a player like Mattias Janmark out of Chicago.
There was also talk that the Pittsburgh Penguins might be a team to watch when it comes to Laughton. Of course, most people figured a third team would need to get involved here since the Penguins and Flyers aren’t likely to do a direct deal with each other.
Laughton Could Always Go and Return to the Flyers
It will be interesting to see if the price/offer for Laughton is high enough that the Flyers elect to move him despite wanting to keep him. As a pending UFA, he could always sign with the Flyers again during the summer while the team collects an asset for him as a rental this season.
It’s not that strange a situation.
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