‘That’d be awesome’: Why Maple Leafs should bring back Scott Laughton

LOS ANGELES — How much do the Toronto Maple Leafs miss Scotty? Laughts.

So much so, Scott Laughton’s ex-teammates met up with the newest King Friday night in Los Angeles to hang out for some laughs ahead of Saturday’s 7-6 wild overtime comeback win for the Kings.

We can only wonder if the topic of Laughton — a native of Oakville, Ont., who fulfilled a boyhood dream every time he pulled on a Leafs sweater — coming home and signing back with the franchise that rented him west last month popped up.

“That’d be awesome. We would welcome him back with open arms. I know there’s a lot of guys in this locker room who feel the same way,” beams Steven Lorentz, Laughton’s ex-linemate and fast friend. (Ah, who are we kidding? In Laughton’s world, every breakaway is a slapshot opportunity, every opponent is a chirp target, and every teammate is a fast friend.)

“You win with guys like Scott. He’s a glue guy. He plays a game the right way. He plays hard. And he’s definitely got the skill, offensively and defensively, to be out there in all situations. So, yeah, a lot of Laughton fans over here still. It’s sad we had to get rid of him. But he’s a free agent, so we’ll see what happens.”

Hey, the Maple Leafs have a cap-space surplus and centre-depth deficit after shedding Laughton and Nicolas Roy for draft picks. And Laughton is always effusive when professing his belief in and love for the Maple Leafs.

“I have family close. And the staff, you get treated first class here. Original Six team. It’s special every time you go on the ice,” Laughton told us, shortly before his March 6 trade. 

“You get chills every time going out, thinking about this team you grew up watching. And I’ve said this before, but I’ve fallen in love with the guys here. We have a great group of guys who really care and want to be at their best.”

A month ago, Laughton’s preference was to re-sign in Toronto.

Once the Leafs fell out of the race, however, it only made sense to salvage some return for an expiring asset.

The Kings bought low, sending a third-round draft choice to Toronto that upgrades to a second-rounder should Laughton’s new squad — still swinging away in the pillow-fight Pacific —make the playoffs. 

Saturday’s result helps both participants.

Laughton has meshed quickly with the Kings, as he did with the Leafs and Flyers before them. Under an old junior coach, fellow Oshawa Generals alum D.J. Smith, he has seen his ice time climb over 16 minutes while getting second-unit power-play reps. 

As a third-line pivot, Laughton has already potted four goals. His offensive-zone deployment has doubled from what he received under Toronto’s Craig Berube, who used Laughton mostly as a fourth-line penalty killer.

“He has way more offence than people give him credit for,” Smith told reporters this week. “He’s made a play or two every night on the power play offensively. I think he’s a really good player in our league.”

Laughton barely got a sniff alongside the Leafs’ top playmakers, and the price former GM Brad Treliving paid to acquire him — a first-round pick, plus prospect Nikita Grebenkin — didn’t jibe with his role.

As any smart free agent, Laughton is open to making things work long-term in California, where opportunity is fuelling confidence — but isn’t shutting the door on a Leafs reunion.

The executive who traded him away is gone. The coach who stuffed him in the D-zone might be too.

“I could see it, for sure,” Berube says. “He really liked it in Toronto. And he’s from around there, too. So I think that was a bit of a dream for him to go back home and play. Yeah, I could see him going back there, for sure.”

Berube says the Maple Leafs miss Laughton’s personality, energy, and consistency. The coach and the player first crossed paths in Philly. Berube chuckles about how he would “kinda bust his balls a little bit every day,” and the two locker-room presences would fire chirps back and forth.

“He’s got such a great personality and love for the game and shows up every day with the same attitude,” Berube says. “People get attracted to him.”

People like Troy Stecher, who was Laughton’s teammate for less than four months.

Stecher considers himself fortunate to have shared a room with such a “unique” character. He noticed how Laughton would be the first to welcome a new Marlies callup to the room, how Laughton took rookie Easton Cowan under his wing, and how the veteran would call out teammates’ mistakes — not to kick them while they felt down but to help raise the entire group’s standard.

“With him leaving, I think we’ve lost a little bit of that vocalness in the room and accountability,” Stecher says. 

“And that’s hard to replace. It’s hard for guys to get out of their comfort shell. And it was so natural for him to speak up and be vocal. In a time of need, he was the guy that guys would kind of look towards. So, he’s a great leader, a great hockey player, and we definitely miss him on our team.”

Captain Auston Matthews calls Laughton’s impact on and off the ice “incredibly valuable,” stressing how he binds everyone together, be it through inside jokes or outward competitiveness.

MLSE president Keith Pelley noted this week how he was dissatisfied with the team’s culture and lack of draft capital. Losing Laughton may have helped with the latter, but it hurt the former. 

Treliving’s successor would be wise to explore the cost of a Laughton signing — or, at minimum, seek out new additions with similar traits.

“He’s one of those guys with just that charisma. Guys are drawn to him, right? He gets along with everyone right away. He treats everyone the same, whether you’re a trainer, arena staff, or coach or a player,” Lorentz says. “He always seems to be in a good mood, and he’s always willing to joke around. And little things like that just go a long way. 

“He’s just one of those guys, wherever he ends up, in a positive way, he’s doing something to change the organization.”

The Maple Leafs organization sure could use some change, in a positive way.

“It’s weird,” Lorentz adds. “He was here for a year, but it felt like it was a lot longer, right?” 

Hmmm… maybe it will be.

Fox’s Fast Five

• Since Matthews went down, John Tavares has responded with eight goals and 16 points in 12 games. He registered his eighth 30-goal campaign Saturday. Even at 35, you won’t find better value at 2C.

“Just never stops doing the same things every night,” Berube says. “When he suits up and goes out there, I know what I’m going to get from him. His work ethic and competitiveness are there all the time. 

“He may not have his legs one night or different things, but I know he’s going to give us the effort and the compete and doing the right things, night in and night out. He’s been excellent.”

• Tavares waited a while to leave the ice after the loss because he and the Leafs wanted to shake Anze Kopitar’s hand. The Kings legend asked they do so off the ice.

“You talk about a gentleman in the way he carries himself,” Tavares says. “I’ve gotten to know him a little bit at different events. Always was an honour to play against him and always a battle. 

“That’s what’s amazing about this league, is playing against the world’s best — and he’s been one of those for a long time.”

• Here is a thoughtful Troy Stecher on the firing of Brad Treliving:

“I messaged him afterward and think a lot of guys did. At the end of the day, the fault comes down onto the players. We’re the ones that go out there and perform. So, the most upset people — I mean, besides Tree — would be the guys in the room. We feel like we let the organization down. And we have.

“So, it sucks where we are as a group. Me, personally, I’m very thankful to Brad. This was the second time he brought me in. He traded for me in Calgary when I was with Arizona. I’ve been a guy that’s had to fight and claw my whole career to stay in this league and prove that I belong in this league. And he was one of my believers. I can’t have more respect than I do for Brad. He’s given me a really good chance, and my family a really good opportunity to play hockey.”

• The Maple Leafs got doubled up on the shot clock in L.A. (40-20) and have been outshot something silly this season: 2,501-2,055. 

No team has surrendered as many shots as Toronto, and only four teams that have played as many games as the Leafs have fewer shots: the Flyers, Stars, Rangers, and Blackhawks.

Why have shots been difficult to generate? 

“We don’t look to shoot enough,” Berube says. “There’s a lot of times where it’s just a simple shot. It’s not our first instinct. Even from the back end, when we get pucks, we could move our feet quicker and get them through. I think it’s a mindset more than anything. 

“We’re right there, and we’re trying to pass it in the net. We got to try to get that out of our system. We got to put more pucks at the net.”

• William Villeneuve was summoned on emergency recall due to Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s lower-body injury but did not play. 

The steady 24-year-old Marlies defenceman was drafted back in 2020 and is still looking for his first taste of NHL action.

Five games to go. 

Give him one — as a reward and to see what you got.

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