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Scott Laughton

Scott Laughton Agrees To Terms With Philadelphia Flyers

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The Philadelphia Flyers have taken care of one of their pending restricted free agents, agreeing to terms with Scott Laughton on a two-year contract. Laughton had filed for salary arbitration and had a hearing scheduled for the end of the month, but instead will sign a deal with an average annual value of $2.3MM.

A first round pick by the Flyers seven years ago, Laughton has slowly but surely grown into a valuable NHL player. The 25-year old set career-highs last season with 12 goals and 32 points while playing in all 82 games for the first time. Winning more than 54% of his draws and recording more hits than any other Philadelphia forward gave him a clear role on the team, especially when you consider his regular spot on the penalty kill.

Philadelphia has added some center depth this summer by signing Kevin Hayes to a long-term deal, which likely pushes everyone else down a peg for the upcoming season. That is an important thing to consider for Laughton’s future, given the Flyers’ group of prospects that will be pushing for a spot on the roster before long. Morgan Frost, arguably the team’s top prospect at this point is also a center, though the team could obviously start him on the wing at the NHL level whenever he gets there. They could also move Laughton over, but the term of this new contract is quite telling.

In two years Laughton will be an unrestricted free agent, giving the team and player a point at which they can choose to part ways if there is no longer any opportunity for him in Philadelphia. With Hayes under contract and both Nolan Patrick and Sean Couturier presumably in the team’s long-term plans, the Flyers are set down the middle for some time. These next two seasons will be a billboard for his eventual case as a center, or a chance for him to show he can be just as effective playing full-time on the wing.

Metropolitan Notes: Devils Moves, Flyers Roster, Backstrom

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There still remains a number of intriguing free agents available on the open market, including Jake Gardiner, Ryan Dzingel and Micheal Ferland. However, despite having $20.77MM in projected cap space remaining on their roster, it’s unlikely the New Jersey Devils will be adding one of them unless their asking price drops significantly, according to The Athletic’s Corey Masisak (subscription required).

That cap number is somewhat deceiving as New Jersey has several restricted free agents they must deal with, including Pavel Zacha, Will Butcher, Mirco Mueller and Connor Carrick, amongst others. No player should walk away with too significant a deal, meaning the Devils would have the cap space to sign one of those free agents, but that still seems unlikely. The team already made their major moves earlier, trading for P.K. Subban and signing winger Wayne Simmonds in free agency. That, however, doesn’t mean they are done making moves.

“I made some calls,” Shero. “This week will be the same thing, and we certainly would want to see what’s out there, if there’s a chance as we go into the summertime and the rest of the summer into training camp.”

  • Sam Carchidi of Philly.com comes up with an early projection of the Philadelphia Flyers’ lineup with one interesting hole on the team’s third line. The scribe pencils in Nolan Patrick centering Oskar Lindblom, but lists the other wing position to a mystery man, likely to be battled during training camp. He notes that there are two logical candidates to win the role including veteran Scott Laughton as well as youngsters Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. The 20-year-old Frost, a 2017 first-rounder, wrapped up his junior career last season and combined for 79 goals and 221 points over his last two years for the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL. The 19-year-old Farabee, a 2018 first-rounder, signed with the Flyers after one season with Boston University in which he scored 17 goals and 36 points in 37 games.
  • While the discussions of whether the Washington Capitals will be able to retain goaltender Braden Holtby after next season has been discussed, the Washington Capitals have another significant free agent as well next offseason in Niklas Backstrom. The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga suggests that the Capitals are almost certainly going to find a way to bring the veteran center back. Backstrom will be 32 by then, but has been such an integral piece to the first line next to Alexander Ovechkin, that it seems inconceivable the team will allow the veteran to walk away, especially without a young center waiting in the wings, which Washington does not have. Backstrom is still putting up solid numbers as he scored 22 goals and 74 points last season.

Metropolitan Notes: Lee, Aho, Marleau, Subban, Provorov

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Talks continue to be ongoing, but so far there has been no contract agreement between the New York Islanders and their captain Anders Lee. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that he saw Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello and Lee’s agent, Neil Sheehy were having a lengthy discussion during the draft Saturday. However, with unrestricted free agents being allowed to talk to other teams Sunday, a potential deal could be even more challenging.

In fact, Newsday’s Brian Heyman reports that he spoke to Lee, who remarked that the two sides haven’t reached an agreement yet.

“I never thought it would get to this point, but I guess it’s the nature of what this week means,” Lee said.

Lee said his first choice is to remain with the Islanders, but the belief is that the two sides remain far apart when it comes to term with New York likely wanting to avoid giving the veteran too long of a contract considering he’s already 28 and the team may not want to pay big into his mid-30’s.

  • Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said that he had a “great discussion” yesterday with Sebastian Aho’s representation, according to NHL.com’s Michael Smith. The 21-year-old forward will be a restricted free agent on July 1 and the team hopes to lock Aho to a long-term deal now. He scored 30 goals and 83 points last season, both career highs and continually has shown improvement every year. “I think things are going to move along. … The good thing is I don’t think we’re terribly far apart. They want to get a deal done as much as we want to get a deal done.”
  • Smith also tweets that Waddell was thrilled to walk away from the Patrick Marleau deal with a future first-round pick and said that while the rumors suggest that Carolina intends to buyout Marleau, Waddell said they intend to talk to Marleau and see if he is interested in staying with Carolina. “For us, when you can pick up assets like that, like a 1st round pick, that’s important for the future. The plan would be to meet with Patrick, talk with him and see where he’s at. If he wanted to be a Hurricane, we’d certainly love to have him.”
  • Before trading for P.K. Subban earlier today, New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero said he spoke to both Taylor Hall and former Devil Brian Boyle about Subban before pulling the trigger on the deal, according to NHL.com’s Amanda Stein. Subban, who possesses a powerful personality, wanted to make sure that Subban would be a good fit as well as making sure that Hall approved of the deal, considering the Devils must convince their star player to re-sign at some point. NHL.com’s Dan Rosen also confirmed from Shero that the Nashville Predators did not retain any salaries as part of the deal.
  • Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi reports that the Philadelphia Flyers haven’t gotten very far yet with restricted free agent defenseman Ivan Provorov. General manager Chuck Fletcher said that progress with Provorov is slow because the team is waiting for the market to set before signing him. However, Fletcher did admit the team is much closer to signing restricted free agent Travis Sanheim and Scott Laughton.

 

Flyers Sign Scott Laughton To Two-Year Extension

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The Philadelphia Flyers have agreed to terms on a new deal with an important albeit under-performing depth piece, inking young forward Scott Laughton to a two-year, one-way extension. According to Flyers beat writer Dave Isaac, the contract pays Laughton $875K for 2017-18 and $1.05MM for 2018-19. That comes out to a cap hit of $962.5 for the length of the deal.

Laughton, 23, has been somewhat of an enigmatic player for the Flyers since being drafted 20th overall in the 2012 NHL Draft. Laughton has played in 109 NHL games in his four pro seasons, but skated in just two NHL games last season. Unlike the progression of most young players, Laughton’s role and production increased in the first three years of his career, culminating in a career-best 71 games and 21 points in 2015-16, and then he lost his roster spot entirely last season. Laughton seemed to be developing into a stable bottom six center, but coach Dave Hakstol and the Flyers seemed to quit on him last year. Yet, he has signed a two-year deal that is one-way no less and appears to have his job back.

Even when he was a regular for the Flyers, Laughton was still only given a modest 11 minutes of ice time on average. When sent down to the AHL, Laughton scored at a greater clip, but still nothing overly impressive or anywhere near his junior totals. It’s clear that Laughton is far from the first-round caliber player the Flyers though he was, at least at this point in time. Yet, GM Ron Hextall and company must have a plan for the young center; one that allows him to get NHL ice time and experience while playing in a lineup that has also added well-rounded veteran centers Valtteri Filppula and Jori Lehtera in recent months. Where Laughton thrives is in the two-way checking game and on the penalty kill. If this new contract is going to work out for either side, it seems Laughton will have to embrace his best attributes and dominate as a fourth-line skater and short-hand specialist, or else he could be facing waivers.

Trade Deadline Summary: Winners & Losers Of The Metropolitan Division

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The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and while it wasn’t the most exciting deadline day in recent memory, there were quite a few notable moves. Here are the winners and losers of the dominant Metropolitan Division:

Winners

Carolina Hurricanes:

Not all that much happening in Raleigh, but what GM Ron Francis did do, he did well. Both Hainsey and Stalberg brought back returns that were greater than their market value. It was also nice of Francis to send Hainsey to a team where his career-long playoff drought would definitely be snapped. Not sure why Jay McClement wasn’t moved, but there simply may not have been interest. The Hurricanes have a ton of salary cap space and have to dip into their depth on defense sooner or later, but this year’s deadline was definitely not the time for big moves. Expect Carolina to be a major player in the off-season trade market.

New Jersey Devils:

The Devils didn’t really have any trade capital today other than Quincey and Parenteau, so good on GM Ray Shero for doing what he could with what he had. It’s strange that New Jersey was able to get a higher pick from the Predators for Vernon Fiddler earlier this season than they did for Parenteau, but injuries may have played into that. A full season of production and a draft pick in compensation isn’t that bad a return for an early-season waiver claim. The Quincey deal was the real star of the show though. The Devils went from taking a risk on an older, washed-up defenseman this off-season to trading him for a young, strong defensive defenseman who can be a starter for years with the team. Shero played the long con on the league this year, and it paid off.

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Flyers Send Scott Laughton To Minors

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The Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have loaned center Scott Laughton to its AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The team recalled forward Taylor Leier from Lehigh Valley as a replacement.

Laughton played two games for the Flyers this season but failed to record a point in his short time with the team. The former first round draft pick—20th overall in 2012—made some progress last year with the team but could not find his game so far this season. In his eight AHL games, however, Laughton has 2G and 6P. Consider this a temporary loan and expect to see Laughton back in a Flyers’ jersey sooner rather than later.

His replacement Taylor Leier was also drafted by the Flyers in 2012 (117th overall) and is lighting up the AHL so far this season. His 6G and 14A in 22 games are good for 12th in AHL scoring. With Matt Read injured for the next few weeks, Leier will have ample opportunity to prove himself at the NHL level.

 

 

Injury Notes: Couturier, Gaborik, Cunningham

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The Philadelphia Flyers’ nightmare season continues. Today, the team will recall Scott Laughton from Lehigh Valley to replace Sean Couturier, who will be out for 4-6 weeks with a left knee injury. According to Sam Carchidi, Couturier will be examined this afternoon in Philadelphia but has already been placed on injured reserve.  The 23-year old centerman had eight points in twenty games this season.

For Laughton, this won’t be the first time he’s set foot on NHL ice, but it will be the first this season. The 22-year old former first-rounder played 71 games for the Flyers last season, recording 21 points but was injured early in training camp and had been playing in the AHL since his return. Eight points in eight games at the lower level as he shook off the rust, and proved that he’s ready for an NHL return. As Carchidi reports, he’ll be available to dress tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning, though there has been no indication whether or not he’ll get into the lineup right away.

  • Marian Gaborik is back with the Los Angeles Kings and aiming for Saturday to make his season debut, according to Kings beat reporter Elliott Teaford. The 34-year old sniper has been out since suffering an injury at the World Cup in Toronto in September, breaking his right foot in a game against Sweden. The Kings will hope that he’ll come back fresh and looking to show that last year wasn’t what to expect going forward. The former 40-goal man only scored 12 goals and 22 points last season, the lowest point total of his career. He also played in only 54 games, a mark he’ll hope to eclipse this season (the Kings have 62 games remaining).
  • Sarah McLellan of AZ Central is reporting that Craig Cunningham is still in stable but critical condition after suffering a heart attack on the ice Saturday night. Cunningham was playing for the Tucson Roadrunners when he collapsed on the ice and needed to be taken to a local hospital.
  • Tyler Myers has officially been moved to the injured reserve, retroactive to November 11th, reports Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. The defenseman suffered a lower-body injury just three days after he was last activated from the IR. The hulking blueliner has played in just 11 games this season, scoring five points.

Metropolitan Notes: Parenteau, Saad, Dubinsky, Flyers

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Late in the preseason, the Islanders waived right winger P.A. Parenteau, a decision that came as a surprise to many considering they had just signed him to a one year, $1.25MM deal in the summer with the expectation that he’d reunite with former linemate John Tavares.  When they let him go, it seemed like the plan was to give his spot to either Anthony Beauvillier or Mathew Barzal.  That hasn’t exactly transpired though as Beauvillier has been a scratch at times while Barzal, who has sat for most of the season, was sent back to his junior team earlier today.

With the benefit of hindsight, Brian Erni of Islanders Point Blank suggests that the Islanders could have exercised some better foresight back at the end of the preseason.  Was it worth losing Parenteau so that Barzal could see less than 20 total minutes of action?

On the other end of the coin, the Devils certainly have to be pleased with their waiver acquisition.  Parenteau has five goals so far this season, tying him with fellow newcomer Taylor Hall for the team lead (while Tavares leads the Isles with five tallies as well).  It’s not often to get someone who can play top six minutes off of the waiver wire and while it’s a small sample size so far, Parenteau is looking like the one that got away for the Islanders.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Although Blue Jackets left winger Brandon Saad was expected to be a healthy scratch tonight for the first time in a Columbus uniform, he will be in the lineup tonight against the Ducks, reports Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. He will be effectively taking the place of Brandon Dubinsky, who will not play due to a lower body injury.
  • Flyers center/left winger Nick Cousins has been a healthy scratch the last couple of games but as Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post writes, his absence from the lineup isn’t entirely performance related. Head coach Dave Hakstol believes that Cousins’ mental toughness is strong enough to allow him to sit once in a while without it affecting his game while allowing other players to either get back into or stay in the lineup.  It would appear that Cousins will be back in the lineup soon as the team announced that they have sent forwards Scott Laughton and Roman Lyubimov to Lehigh Valley of the AHL.  The Flyers now have the minimum 12 forwards on the roster so it’s likely one will be called up before their next game on Friday against Toronto.

Snapshots: Vrbata, Detroit Injuries, Beleskey, Flyers

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Arizona right winger Radim Vrbata holds a unique distinction among the 719 players to suit up in the NHL this season, writes Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated.  Vrbata is the lone player in the league to be in his third stint with the same organization.  Vrbata played with the Coyotes in 2007-08, then was traded back there again in 2009, staying until 2014.  After a two year stint with Vancouver, he returned to the desert, signing a one year, incentive-laden deal with Arizona this summer.

When he had signed with the Canucks, Vrbata admitted that he never really wanted to leave the Coyotes and had stayed in touch with plenty of players and staffers over the past two seasons with the hope of returning down the road.  The 35 year old enjoyed the familiarity that only Arizona could provide, from the market to the coach (Dave Tippett), to even his linemate in Martin Hanzal.

That comfort level appears to have been quite helpful for Vrbata in his third stint with the team.  After following up a 63 point effort two years ago with arguably the worst season of his career in 2015-16, he’s off to a strong start with Arizona this season with four goals and six assists through his first nine games and is currently skating on their top line.

[Related: Coyotes Depth Chart]

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Red Wings right winger Thomas Vanek is expected to miss the next 2-3 weeks with a hip strain, GM Ken Holland told MLive’s Ansar Khan. Holland remains hopeful that defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who has yet to play this season with a knee injury, will be able to return to the lineup in the next week or so.  Meanwhile right winger Tomas Jurco, who is still recovering from offseason back surgery, is likely to be cleared for contact sometime next week.  Holland anticipates Jurco would need another 7-10 days beyond that to get into game shape.
  • Bruins left winger Matt Beleskey is set to be a healthy scratch tonight against Tampa Bay, notes CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty. Beleskey is off to a tough start this season with no points and a -7 rating in nine games.  Prospect Sean Kuraly will make his NHL debut in Beleskey’s spot on Boston’s third line.
  • The Flyers have sent center Scott Laughton to their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley on a conditioning assignment, the team announced. The 22 year old suffered a lower body injury back in training camp and is currently on long-term injury reserve.  He’s eligible to be activated on Saturday but it would appear that he’ll get into a couple of games in the minors before joining Philadelphia’s active roster.  Still with Philly, defenseman Andrew MacDonald is expected to miss at least the next week with a lower body injury, the club announced (Twitter link).

Snapshots: Flyers, Escrow, Murray, Despres

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While the Flyers are receiving some good news on the injury front, it will be a while before they can actually benefit from it, writes Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post.  Center Scott Laughton has been skating since Friday and is hoping to be ready in the next seven to ten days to return to the lineup from a knee injury.  As for Michael Del Zotto, he skated for the first time on Sunday after suffering a knee injury of his own.

On the surface, that might sound promising that both are nearing returns to the lineup but there is one hiccup they have to deal with.  At the start of the season, the Flyers placed both players on long-term injury reserve (LTIR), allowing them to have replacement players while remaining cap compliant.  As a result, both players must miss at least 10 games and 24 days of action.  Even though both players may be ready to go before the 24 days are up, neither will be able to return to playing until their November 5th game against Montreal.

Other news from around the league:

  • The NHL and NHLPA have agreed to set the first quarter escrow rate on pay at 15.5%, notes TSN’s Frank Seravalli. Teams withhold the escrow amounts in order to maintain an equal 50/50 split of revenues as listed in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.  While the 15.5% represents a reduction compared to last year (17%), it’s still unlikely that the players will receive a lot of that money back.  In 2014-15 – the last season where total revenues have been finalized – the players had 15% withheld as escrow and only received 2.05% of it back.  The large gap will likely continue to be a problem as league revenues begin to flat line with the NHLPA exercising at least some part of their cap escalator each offseason.
  • Columbus defenseman Ryan Murray is not currently with the team on their road trip but could join them at some point this week, reports Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. Murray missed Saturday’s game in Dallas with a head injury after a collision with Chicago’s Brent Seabrook on Friday night.
  • The Ducks have placed blueliner Simon Despres on LTIR, TSN’s Bob McKenzie notes (Twitter link). The move gives Anaheim some more financial flexibility in the short-term as they look to re-sign RFA defenseman Hampus Lindholm.  Despres is currently out with an upper body injury that is believed to be concussion-like symptoms.

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