The Philadelphia Flyers are one of the teams at the center of the NHL trade market right now. As a team in the extremely unique situation of being in a playoff spot but also most likely selling off pieces by the trade deadline on March 8, they control their own destiny.
One name that has been popping up in recent trade rumors is established veteran and core member of the Flyers’ locker room, Scott Laughton. And to add fuel to the fire, one of the teams heavily connected to Laughton, and are reportedly interested in acquiring him before the deadline, are the New York Rangers.
From multiple different reports, the Flyers’ divisional rivals have been linked to being interested in Laughton and it sort of makes sense.
As Elliotte Friedman laid out recently, the 29-year-old center is a player they have been desiring for some time now.
“Laughton, to me, is a really interesting one,” Friedman speculated on Friday’s episode of 32 Thoughts. “In the sense that, I do wonder about a team like the Rangers, with Laughton. I’ve heard that’s the kind of player they’re interested in, and I think he could be perfect for them.”
Additionally, Friedman recognizes that the price the Rangers might have to pay for Laughton is what the Flyers are looking for — a first-round pick. And comparatively to the Flyers’ other trade chips, defensemen Nick Seeler and Sean Walker, the Flyers have time to negotiate a Laughton trade.
“But again, if you’re looking at the first-rounder for the rentals that have gone, Lindholm and Monahan, if you’re Philly, are you moving Laughton if you don’t get better than that? So, I think right now we’re in the big poker game, and the big poker game is, what hits first, and Laughton’s a bit different, with Seeler and Walker, what hits first, they say yes to my number, or I get what I want? That’s where we are.”
Laughton is under contract through the 2025-26 season, there isn’t a rush to get a deal done for Philadelphia, but also there might be some incentive for teams to get three playoff runs with the player on their roster, instead of potentially just two if they decide this is a summer transaction. Right now, it seems that the Flyers are in potential contract talks with both Seeler and Walker about staying in Philadelphia, depending on what they accept for contract extensions. So, the Flyers have to get their number and pen to paper before March 8, or they could be finding themselves on a new team as this one continues their rebuild.
For the Rangers, they do have their next three first-round picks, and the second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. They don’t have much going for them in the prospect pipeline, but would something like a 2025 first-round pick get it done for the Flyers? Would that be enough to part ways with such an established member of this team that is beloved by just about everyone?
It’s a tough decision and we hope that general manager Danny Briere is up for the difficult negotiations.
