TORONTO -- Scott Laughton has found his way home.
Now all that remains for the Oakville, Ontario, native is to find his game.
Easier said than done.
When the 30-year-old center was acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Philadelphia Flyers on March 7, it seemed like the perfect stage to showcase him. Having grown up 20 miles west of Scotiabank Arena in Oakville, where Laughton learned the game with new teammate Max Domi, he appeared to be the perfect fit to slot into the third-line center role the Maple Leafs were keenly seeking.
But Laughton is still looking for his first point with Toronto and is minus-5 through his first eight games. Those struggles have provided him with even more motivation to get on track, starting Tuesday here against his former Flyers teammates (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, NBCSP).
“It’s probably going to be weird and emotional,” Laughton said after practice Monday. “And yeah, it’s going to feel different for sure, especially happening so quickly after [the trade].
“Just hopefully going to beat them,” he added with a chuckle.
Laughton said he saw some of his ex-teammates Sunday, adding he treated Philadelphia’s trainers and support staff to dinner. His ties with the Flyers understandably remain strong, having played 661 games with them from 2013-25.
Laughton was traded to the Maple Leafs by the Flyers for forward prospect Nikita Grebenkin and a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. Toronto also acquired a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a sixth-round selection in 2027. Philadelphia is retaining 50 percent of Laughton’s remaining salary. He is in the fourth season of a five-year, $15 million contract ($3 million average annual value) he signed with the Flyers on April 12, 2021.
In his brief time with the Maple Leafs, effort has not been an issue. The natural conclusion has been he’s been trying too hard to impress in the area where he first started playing as a boy.
“I’m not sure about that,” Laughton said. “I mean, I think I always put pressure on myself. I think you have to a little bit in this league. I’m pretty self-aware of what’s going on, and I’ve been in the League long enough to know when you’re going and when you need to pick it up. So yeah, I’m pretty aware of that. You just take it in stride.”
Laughton admits his on-ice issues this season started with the Flyers, where he had 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) and was minus-17 in 60 games. Philadelphia was 27-28-8 at the time of the trade; Toronto (42-25-3) enters Tuesday second in the Atlantic Division, two points behind the Florida Panthers.
But the Maple Leafs are doing everything to make Laughton feel comfortable in his new digs, including putting his cubicle next to Domi in the dressing room at their practice facility. The two learned to skate together in Oakville, Laughton said, “when I was 4 and he was 3.”
Craig Berube has experimented with Laughton in various spots among the third and fourth lines, including having him play the wing with Domi and Nicholas Robertson on the third line at practice Monday. In the opinion of the Maple Leafs coach, coming back home to play for the local team in front of friends and family isn’t easy.
“He’s trying to probably play the game without making mistakes, and he’s overthinking things instead of just playing,” said Berube, who coached Laughton early in his Flyers career. “Go, ‘Laughts.’ Just play. Be aggressive. Do your thing. That’ll come around. I do believe that. He wants to do well, and he’s just got to loosen up and go play.
“He’s from here, and (he’s) got a lot going on with people and everything else. You want to please, right? He’s got to forget about pleasing and play and do your thing. You’re a good player. That’s why you’re in the National Hockey League and played for a long time.”
John Tavares can relate to what Laughton is going through. The Maple Leafs forward, who also grew up in Oakville, played his first nine NHL seasons with the New York Islanders before signing a seven-year, $77 million contract ($11 million average annual value) with Toronto on July 1, 2018.
“I don’t know if putting pressure on yourself is the way I would describe it,” Tavares said Monday. “But certainly, I think if you grew up in the (Toronto area), you either grew up cheering for the Leafs, or you come back to lots of friends and family who did and still do.
“When you’re from here, you have a good sense of the fan base, where they’re at, and how bad they want to see the team win. And it’s been a while. So, you have a feel of just how bad they want it. And because of that, you just want to be a part of delivering that and knowing how special that is.”
It will likely feel more special for Laughton once he begins landing on the score sheet for his hometown team, which has 12 games left before the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“I think you always want to produce,” Laughton said. “Even before the Deadline, I wasn’t really producing in Philadelphia for a little bit. So yeah, you want to produce, but you also want to play winning hockey, and I’m going to keep trying to do that.”
