NHL analyst Frankie Corrado opines Toronto Maple Leafs would be "harder to play against" with 30-year-old forward's potential trade acquisition

Scott Laughton has been long linked as a third line center for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Philadelphia Flyers forward is currently in the fourth year of a five-year $3 million AAV contract. He has 26 points this season, with a career-high of 43 points coming in the 2022-23 season.

Laughton's career in the NHL has been entirely with the Flyers, which has made him one of the best 3Cs in the league. Even though he has never shown world class offensive potential, he has shown versatility with an ability to play in the top-six in the event of an injury, something teams like Leafs need as the postseason approaches.

On TSN's broadcast, former NHL player and current analyst Frankie Corrado said that the Leafs can benefit by adding some like the 30-year-old Laughton:

"I think Ryan Strome is one that's interesting, like, he's a Toronto guy, would give them a little more offense than maybe a Scott Laughton. But on the other hand, Scott Laughton makes you harder to play against and if there's one thing we've learned about the Leafs this year, they want to be harder to play against.

"Right, like, as much as when the playoffs have come around, offense has been an issue for them, they want to be hard to play against. And Scott Laughton makes you hard to play against. So, there's a lot of options for Toronto, but undoubtedly, it is a third-line center and a defenseman, a bigger-type defenseman."

Price for Scott Laughton is set high by Flyers, as per Athletic writer

The Philadelphia Flyers realize the importance of Scott Laughton and therefore have seemingly kept a high price, as per The Athletic writer Kevin Kurz. Answering a question about the viability of a Laughton trade considering recent moves of Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to the Calgary Flames, Kurz wrote:

"As for the Laughton trade chatter that’s propped up lately, well, Briere has already told us how he’s approaching it. There aren’t any secrets here. It’s the same as it was a year ago.

"The price to acquire Laughton is high because he’s still more important to the Flyers than he would be to any team that acquired him. Briere isn’t lying when he says he isn’t actively shopping him."

Philly will definitely look for a first-round pick alongside a third-line forward or a back-up defenseman as the ideal fit for a good trade package in return for Laughton.