<p>Scott Laughton didn&#8217;t score a goal in the first round of the playoffs. He only notched two assists, and didn&#8217;t find himself on the scoresheet all that often, for better or for worse. Despite this, he showed why the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> acquired him for such a steep price at the trade deadline.</p>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
<p>For a guy who has career highs of 18 and 43 in goals and points, respectively, it&#8217;s understandable that there was a little bit of skepticism when the Maple Leafs acquired him. They did part with a first round pick and a loveable prospect in Nikita Grebenkin, after all, but the acknowledgement that the first round pick would likely be a late one combined with the fact that the Leafs have one more year with him at 50% retained made it a little easier to stomach.</p>
<p>His case wasn&#8217;t helped at all by the fact that he didn&#8217;t score his first goal with the team until his tenth game and only recorded two goals and four points down the stretch. But, the Leafs didn&#8217;t acquire him for the second half of the regular season. They acquired him for the playoffs, and even though he didn&#8217;t have that aforementioned scoresheet impact, his value to the team in the series was on full display and acknowledged by his teammates and head coach.</p>
<p>Ironically enough, his two assists came on the first and last goals of the series. He set up Oliver Ekman-Larsson to open the scoring in Game 1, and assisted on William Nylander&#8217;s empty netter to <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/how-toronto-maple-leafs-temporarily-silenced-demons-battle-ontario">seal the deal</a> in <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/5-takeaways-toronto-maple-leafs-ottawa-senators-game-6-signature-nylander-pacioretty-justifies-role">Game 6</a>, but the latter wasn&#8217;t a traditional asisst. It was actually a blocked shot on Ottawa&#8217;s Jake Sanderson that put the puck on Nylander&#8217;s stick and sprung him for the goal. He earned the game puck for his contribution and a shoutout from his goaltender.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Battle of Ontario </p>
<p>The Leaf: Blueprint Moment presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/Rogers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Rogers</a> <a href="https://t.co/QgKuk5aEzA">pic.twitter.com/QgKuk5aEzA</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) <a href="https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1918319610606051711?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>“I’m extremely proud of the way our team handled business,” goaltender <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/anthony-stolarz-missed-poke-check-ottawa-senators-horny">Anthony Stolarz said</a> after the Game 6 win. “The way we played in the offensive zone and the defensive zone. The selflessness to block shots, you look at Laughts [Scott Laughton] at the end there, laying his body on the line, and then Willy [Nylander] icing it. That’s what it’s going to take to advance.”</p>
<p>Head coach Craig Berube was extremely <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/leafs-practice-notes-berube-indicates-laughton-all-good-shot-block-rielly-tanev-optional">pleased with Laughton&#8217;s effort</a> at the end of the game, noting the sacrifices that it takes if you want to advance in the playoffs. And, for somebody like Berube who has a Cup under his belt, it&#8217;s something that has to be taken seriously.</p>
<div class="ce-block">
<div class="ce-block__content">
<div class="paragraph-tool undefined">
<div class="ce-paragraph cdx-block">
<p>“What a block by Laughton at the end of the game. That’s laying it on the line,” head coach Craig Berube said post-game. “That’s how you win a series right there. You may not see them on the scoresheet, but they’re valuable players for us that do a lot of other things right.”</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>Laughton was shuffled around the lineup down the stretch, but it wasn&#8217;t until Game 81 of the season where he found a home on a line with Steven Lorentz and Calle Jarnkrok. Berube used them against Ottawa&#8217;s second line of Dylan Cozens, Drake Batherson, and David Perron when he had last change at home, and along with the top line, they weren&#8217;t tinkered with at any point. They played to a Corsi-for rating of 53.85% and combined for 44 hits in six games, showing Berube that he could be comfortable using them in any situation.</div>
<div></div>
<div>If there was one thing that felt ~different~ about this iteration of the Maple Leafs in the playoffs, it was their ability to keep things grounded when a bounce went the other way. Adversity is a term you&#8217;ll hear tossed around lots in the postseason, and perhaps the greatest example of this was the goal that Stolarz allowed in the third period of Game 6 to tie things up. It was a flukey bounce shot by Perron that went off of Stolarz&#8217;s mask and in, described by the goaltender himself as an effect of getting too &#8216;horny&#8217; with the poke check, and it had the entirety of the team&#8217;s fanbase on the edges of their seats. It was the exact type of goal that would rattle this team and give the momentum to their opponent on a platter, but it took less than two minutes for the Leafs to get it back.</div>
<div></div>
<div>Laughton may not have been involved in that go-ahead goal, but he&#8217;s the type of player that excels in moments like that. He knows his role, he shows up and puts in work regardless of the situation. Philadelphia Flyers GM Daniel Brière <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/flyers-gm-daniel-briere-scott-laughton-trade-fit-toronto-maple-leafs">knows this</a> as well as anybody, and admitted it wasn&#8217;t an easy decision to move on from him despite the return.</div>
<div></div>
<div>
<div class="mb-5">“He’s just the jack of all trades and so helpful for a team going into the playoffs,” Brière said. “Because you’re gonna be faced with adversity along the way, you’re gonna be faced with injuries along the way if you’re planning on making a long run. Having a guy like Scott Laughton really helps your team because you can plug him in so many areas.”</div>
</div>
<div></div>
<div>It&#8217;s important to remember that nobody reading this article, provided you didn&#8217;t play in the NHL, understands what it&#8217;s like to be traded. Let alone from the only team you ever knew, having spent 11 years there and all of a sudden being faced with the pressure of joining a team with more eyes on them than anybody. Factor in having to learn a completely new system with the expectation that you hit the ground running even though it&#8217;s the middle of the season and everything is in full swing. Although a seamless transition would have been a pleasant surprise, to expect it to be that easy was a recipe for disappointment.</div>
<div></div>
<div>But we&#8217;re not at that stage anymore. Laughton is settled in with his new team, he&#8217;s playing with two linemates that he has chemistry with, and he&#8217;s contributing to wins. His teammates and head coach likely won&#8217;t care if he&#8217;s not lighting up the scoresheet so long as he&#8217;s contributing in other areas of the game, and if he can find a way to score a goal or two in the second round against the Florida Panthers, he&#8217;ll only continue to grow his value and show his new fanbase why they paid the price they did for him.</div>
<div></div>
<div><strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong></div>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="324" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>


Scott Laughton didn't score a goal in the first round of the playoffs. He only notched two assists, and didn't find himself on the scoresheet all that often, for better or for worse. Despite this, he showed why the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> acquired him for such a steep price at the trade deadline.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
For a guy who has career highs of 18 and 43 in goals and points, respectively, it's understandable that there was a little bit of skepticism when the Maple Leafs acquired him. They did part with a first round pick and a loveable prospect in Nikita Grebenkin, after all, but the acknowledgement that the first round pick would likely be a late one combined with the fact that the Leafs have one more year with him at 50% retained made it a little easier to stomach.

His case wasn't helped at all by the fact that he didn't score his first goal with the team until his tenth game and only recorded two goals and four points down the stretch. But, the Leafs didn't acquire him for the second half of the regular season. They acquired him for the playoffs, and even though he didn't have that aforementioned scoresheet impact, his value to the team in the series was on full display and acknowledged by his teammates and head coach.

Ironically enough, his two assists came on the first and last goals of the series. He set up Oliver Ekman-Larsson to open the scoring in Game 1, and assisted on William Nylander's empty netter to <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/how-toronto-maple-leafs-temporarily-silenced-demons-battle-ontario">seal the deal</a> in <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/5-takeaways-toronto-maple-leafs-ottawa-senators-game-6-signature-nylander-pacioretty-justifies-role">Game 6</a>, but the latter wasn't a traditional asisst. It was actually a blocked shot on Ottawa's Jake Sanderson that put the puck on Nylander's stick and sprung him for the goal. He earned the game puck for his contribution and a shoutout from his goaltender.

https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1918319610606051711

“I’m extremely proud of the way our team handled business,” goaltender <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/anthony-stolarz-missed-poke-check-ottawa-senators-horny">Anthony Stolarz said</a> after the Game 6 win. “The way we played in the offensive zone and the defensive zone. The selflessness to block shots, you look at Laughts [Scott Laughton] at the end there, laying his body on the line, and then Willy [Nylander] icing it. That’s what it’s going to take to advance.”

Head coach Craig Berube was extremely <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/leafs-practice-notes-berube-indicates-laughton-all-good-shot-block-rielly-tanev-optional">pleased with Laughton's effort</a> at the end of the game, noting the sacrifices that it takes if you want to advance in the playoffs. And, for somebody like Berube who has a Cup under his belt, it's something that has to be taken seriously.
<div class="ce-block">
<div class="ce-block__content">
<div class="paragraph-tool undefined">
<div class="ce-paragraph cdx-block">

“What a block by Laughton at the end of the game. That’s laying it on the line,” head coach Craig Berube said post-game. “That’s how you win a series right there. You may not see them on the scoresheet, but they’re valuable players for us that do a lot of other things right.”

</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>Laughton was shuffled around the lineup down the stretch, but it wasn't until Game 81 of the season where he found a home on a line with Steven Lorentz and Calle Jarnkrok. Berube used them against Ottawa's second line of Dylan Cozens, Drake Batherson, and David Perron when he had last change at home, and along with the top line, they weren't tinkered with at any point. They played to a Corsi-for rating of 53.85% and combined for 44 hits in six games, showing Berube that he could be comfortable using them in any situation.</div>
<div></div>
<div>If there was one thing that felt ~different~ about this iteration of the Maple Leafs in the playoffs, it was their ability to keep things grounded when a bounce went the other way. Adversity is a term you'll hear tossed around lots in the postseason, and perhaps the greatest example of this was the goal that Stolarz allowed in the third period of Game 6 to tie things up. It was a flukey bounce shot by Perron that went off of Stolarz's mask and in, described by the goaltender himself as an effect of getting too 'horny' with the poke check, and it had the entirety of the team's fanbase on the edges of their seats. It was the exact type of goal that would rattle this team and give the momentum to their opponent on a platter, but it took less than two minutes for the Leafs to get it back.</div>
<div></div>
<div>Laughton may not have been involved in that go-ahead goal, but he's the type of player that excels in moments like that. He knows his role, he shows up and puts in work regardless of the situation. Philadelphia Flyers GM Daniel Brière <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/flyers-gm-daniel-briere-scott-laughton-trade-fit-toronto-maple-leafs">knows this</a> as well as anybody, and admitted it wasn't an easy decision to move on from him despite the return.</div>
<div></div>
<div>
<div class="mb-5">“He’s just the jack of all trades and so helpful for a team going into the playoffs,” Brière said. “Because you’re gonna be faced with adversity along the way, you’re gonna be faced with injuries along the way if you’re planning on making a long run. Having a guy like Scott Laughton really helps your team because you can plug him in so many areas.”</div>
</div>
<div></div>
<div>It's important to remember that nobody reading this article, provided you didn't play in the NHL, understands what it's like to be traded. Let alone from the only team you ever knew, having spent 11 years there and all of a sudden being faced with the pressure of joining a team with more eyes on them than anybody. Factor in having to learn a completely new system with the expectation that you hit the ground running even though it's the middle of the season and everything is in full swing. Although a seamless transition would have been a pleasant surprise, to expect it to be that easy was a recipe for disappointment.</div>
<div></div>
<div>But we're not at that stage anymore. Laughton is settled in with his new team, he's playing with two linemates that he has chemistry with, and he's contributing to wins. His teammates and head coach likely won't care if he's not lighting up the scoresheet so long as he's contributing in other areas of the game, and if he can find a way to score a goal or two in the second round against the Florida Panthers, he'll only continue to grow his value and show his new fanbase why they paid the price they did for him.</div>
<div></div>
<div><strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong></div>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="324" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>

How Scott Laughton proved his value to Maple Leafs in Round 1 vs. Senators

Maple Leafs Auston Matthews shoots on Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Recent articles from Alex Hobson

Breaking News