{"id":484529,"date":"2026-03-06T15:25:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T20:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=484529"},"modified":"2026-03-06T15:45:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T20:45:04","slug":"toronto-maple-leafs-trade-scott-laughton-in-nhl-deadline-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/03\/06\/toronto-maple-leafs-trade-scott-laughton-in-nhl-deadline-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Scott Laughton in NHL Deadline Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/laughsc01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-03-04_hr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scott Laughton<\/a> trade became official as the Toronto Maple Leafs sent the veteran forward to the Los Angeles Kings. The deal was announced ahead of the 2025-26 NHL Trade Deadline. The return is a conditional 2026 third-round draft pick, that switches to a second rounder (unsure of year at this time) if L.A. makes the playoffs. Playoffs?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Leafs traded Scott Laughton.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheFourthPeriod\/status\/2030014466360836535?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Laughton, 31, entered deadline week ranked No. 17 on <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7079997\/2026\/03\/02\/nhl-trade-board-kadri-thomas-stamkos\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Athletic\u2019s NHL trade board<\/a>, highlighting steady league interest in the versatile forward. The left-shot centre carries a <a  href=\"https:\/\/puckpedia.com\/player\/scott-laughton\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$3 million cap hit<\/a> and is playing the final season of his current contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2026. He is known as a Stanley Cup Playoff performer, type of player.<\/p>\n<h3>What Scott Laughton Brings to the Kings<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/12\/15\/how-scott-laughton-has-revived-his-toronto-maple-leafs-career\/\" target=\"_self\">Laughton<\/a> provides lineup flexibility that many contenders seek at the deadline. He can play both centre and wing and is comfortable filling a range of middle-six or depth roles depending on team needs. Coaches regularly trust him in defensive situations, particularly on the penalty kill and in defensive zone faceoff assignments.<\/p>\n<p>This season,<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/mapleleafs\/player\/scott-laughton-8476872\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Laughton<\/a> has recorded eight goals and four assists in 43 games. While his offensive output is modest, his value often comes through defensive awareness, work rate, and forechecking pressure. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.hockeystatcards.com\/skater?id=8476872\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Analytical models<\/a> rate his even-strength defensive impact well <a  href=\"https:\/\/hockeystats.com\/players\/scott-laughton\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">above average<\/a> among forwards, reflecting his ability to disrupt plays and support structure in the defensive zone.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Kings acquired Toronto\u2019s Scott Laughton for a third round pick &#8211; that becomes a second if LA makes the playoffs, per source.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/emilymkaplan\/status\/2030019408215618039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In addition to on-ice versatility, Laughton brings a strong reputation as a leadership presence. Teams looking for experienced depth often value players who can contribute both in the room and in key defensive minutes.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"bluesky-embed\" data-bluesky-uri=\"at:\/\/did:plc:hgs2eihs5wz2wqp647f5ox74\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3md52zahmfv2w\" data-bluesky-cid=\"bafyreicssfcagswfv6ie4u3uc4qqaukj6uj3y5oiaumvs4qa6rfwakfuwe\">\n<p>Toronto goal!Scored by Scott Laughton with 09:56 remaining in the 2nd period.Assisted by Matthew Knies.Toronto: 2Vegas: 4#VGKvsTOR #LeafsForever #VegasBorn<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; <a  href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:hgs2eihs5wz2wqp647f5ox74?ref_src=embed\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social)<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:hgs2eihs5wz2wqp647f5ox74\/post\/3md52zahmfv2w?ref_src=embed\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2026-01-24T01:32:14.911333Z<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/embed.bsky.app\/static\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>What the Trade Means for Toronto<\/h3>\n<p>For <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/02\/24\/nhl-rumours-toronto-maple-leafs-not-trade-middle-six-forward\/\" target=\"_self\">Toronto<\/a>, the Scott Laughton trade represents an opportunity to convert a pending unrestricted free agent into future assets. By moving Laughton before the deadline, the organization gains assets, adding resources that can be used to strengthen the roster in future seasons. In this case the third (or second) round draft selection.<\/p>\n<p>With Laughton\u2019s contract set to expire in 2026 and the team balancing roster priorities, this move allows Toronto to shift focus toward long-term planning while giving a contender a reliable depth forward for the stretch run.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Scott Laughton, acquired by LA, is a fourth line shut-down centre with a physical edge. <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GoKingsGo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#GoKingsGo<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NmHQ7a1pi3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/NmHQ7a1pi3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; JFresh (@JFreshHockey) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JFreshHockey\/status\/2030015456342327305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Scott Laughton trade became official as the Toronto Maple Leafs sent the veteran forward to the Los Angeles Kings. The deal was announced ahead of the 2025-26 NHL Trade Deadline. The return is a conditional 2026 third-round draft pick, that switches to a second rounder (unsure of year at this time) if L.A. makes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5399,"featured_media":473101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,4547,24,34,4548],"tags":[8278,605],"class_list":["post-484529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leafs","category-hockey","category-kings","category-news","category-nhl","tag-2026-nhl-trade-deadline","tag-scott-laughton"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5399"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484529"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":484817,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484529\/revisions\/484817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}