How Craig Berube's Fourth Line Strategy with Scott Laughton Sets Up Success

Thanks to the efforts of captain Auston Matthews, as well as the team's power play and penalty killing unit going off on Monday night, it was a dominant and easily handled game where Toronto walked away with a 6-2 win against Calgary.

But it wasn't just the top line who did well, as it was a complete team effort, and part of that big effort was that of Scott Laughton.

The trade deadline acquisition played one of his better games since coming over, and even though he was demoted to the fourth line; it didn't damper his spirits.

Averaging the sixth highest TOI while bringing that intimidating presence the Maple Leafs needed from Ryan Reaves; it's a great sign of things to come from the Oakville native.

Toronto also doesn't necessarily employ a traditional fourth line anymore.

With the removal of Ryan Reaves and Connor Dewar from the team, it's more a 3A/3B situation where the third grouping plays more into the offensive side, meanwhile Toronto can quickly swap in and out depending on situation with their secondary checking line.

Decades ago, the fourth line would be one filled with slower, but heavier and more intimidating bodies who were focused on causing fear and panic in opponents, and were often a mainstay for enforcers.

With that style of play gone by the wayside, it makes more sense to have an offensive and defensive split in your lineup as opposed to handicapping your fourth line with some less than ideal players who can't produce.

Laughton is the type of player who is versatile and can adapt to a situation at a moment's notice, and Berube's ability to either keep him on a defensive only line, or call him up a bit in the lineup to add some defense to a scoring line is a huge advantage come playoff time.

Since coming over from the Philadelphia Flyers, Laughton hasn't registered a point and is a minus-3 however has won nearly 60% of his face-offs, and has six blocks and 13 hits through his first five games with the team.

This season, Laughton has 27 points (11G, 16A) in 65 games split between Toronto and Philadelphia; he is signed through the 2025-26 season and will be a free agent at the end of next year.