Flyers Trade Laughton for Draft Pick and Prospect

The Philadelphia Flyers have traded long-time forward Scott Laughton to the Toronto Maple Leafs for 21-year-old forward Nikita Grebenkin and a conditional 2027 first-round pick. The Flyers are retaining 50% of Laughton’s remaining contract, and are sending a fourth and a sixth-round pick back to Toronto.

Toronto’s first is top-10 protected. The years of the Flyers’ picks going to Toronto have not yet been confirmed.

Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported first, with Elliotte Friedman confirming the report. Jacob Stoller was first on the return, and Pierre LeBrun reported the pick is in 2027.

Scott Laughton’s name has been in the rumor mill for the past few years. He was a hard player to part with for a multitude of reasons.

Laughton has been the heart and soul of this Flyers team for a long time now. Whether you are tired of hearing the word or not, Laughton had a massive impact on the team’s culture. His impact stretched far beyond the locker room, and into the Philadelphia community. He wore the “A” on his Flyers sweater for a reason. Laughton was in his 12th season with the Flyers.

On the ice, the veteran center was a Swiss army knife. He played center or the wing for the Flyers. Laughton played crucial minutes on the Flyers’ penalty kill and did it at an extremely high level. He also played on the Flyers’ top power play. He is a jack of all trades type player.

With the Flyers, Laughton totaled 661 career games, 106 goals and 159 assists, tallying 265 total points.

Nikita Grebyonkin is a former 2022 5th-round pick by Toronto. He is a 6’2″, 209-pound winger with a left-handed shot. There is plenty to like about him. He had great production in various levels of the Russian leagues, including winning the 2022/23 KHL Rookie of the Year.

He started this season in Toronto, but after seven pointless games, he went down to the Marlies (AHL), where he has nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 39 games.

It is unclear where he will report once the trade finalizes. Regardless, he is young and has tons of potential. The Flyers front office made a great decision by adding another young winger to the forward group. Getting Grebyonkin and a first-round pick was a fleece job by Briere and company.