Friedman Reveals a Flyer who Nearly Became a Maple Leaf

On the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman shared that he when Laughton signed his contract extension, he believed that he was nearly traded to Toronto. Friedman also sated that even though this was under the Kyle Dubas regime in Toronto, that Brad Treliving may be interested in Laughton too.

Also on the podcast, Friedman mentioned that Ottawa has liked Laughton for a long time:

A wrinkle to the Ottawa link is that Laughton had DJ Smith as his coach when he played for the Oshawa Generals of the OHL. Laughton and Smith reunited at the IIHF World Hockey Championship this past month.

Laughton could be an upgrade to any team looking to improve its forward depth. He would act as a solid Alex Kerfoot replacement if Kerfoot leaves in free agency for Toronto as well.