VOORHEES, N.J. — Since he took over nearly two years ago as the Philadelphia Flyers’ general manager, Daniel Briere has methodically subtracted players he believed didn’t fit in with what the team was building or the culture they were trying to instill. Kevin Hayes, Ivan Provorov, Tony DeAngelo, Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee — all were sent packing.
But this was different. This one stung.
Since before last season’s NHL trade deadline, Briere said many times he wasn’t actively shopping Scott Laughton, the Flyers’ emotional leader and cultural pillar. The 30-year-old forward, who spent his entire career in Philadelphia and was beloved by everyone in the organization and anyone who ever came into his orbit, always had more value to the Flyers than he did to other clubs. Consequently, the price was high — higher than what a player like Laughton provides on the ice, which, as a versatile, hard-nosed veteran, is not insignificant.
That’s what separates the Laughton deal from the others.
But Briere’s task is not to construct a dressing room full of guys who want to go to dinner together on the road. More talent is needed to achieve the goal of icing a perennial playoff team.
In that vein, Briere did a nice bit of work on Friday when he traded Laughton to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a first-round pick in 2027 (top-10 protected) and a young, intriguing prospect in Nikita Grebenkin, who earned his way into seven NHL games as a call-up in November. Briere expects Grebenkin to play for the Flyers at some point, even though he’ll be first assigned to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Still, there is a risk in removing Laughton. And Briere — who said dealing Laughton was “emotional” and “one of the most difficult” moves he’s made so far as the man in charge — knows it.
“There’s no doubt that it’s a little scary,” Briere said. “He was a big part of the culture that we’ve been re-establishing the last couple years. But at some point, too, you’ve got to let some of the young guys start to take over. We thank Scott for everything that he’s done, and hopefully he leaves (an imprint) on our locker room and you see some of the young guys use what they’ve learned from Scott.”
Briere said he received calls from more than a dozen teams on Laughton, although he added it was difficult to gauge how many were serious. It seems likely the general manager was trying to do right by Laughton when it came to a landing spot. Laughton and his wife, Chloe, are both from the Toronto area, and in January, they suffered the sudden death of Laughton’s father-in-law, which the player detailed exclusively with The Athletic in January.
“It’s kind of a cool ending for him, having the chance to go back home, with the tragedy that they’ve had to endure this season as a family,” Briere said.
Briere carried out two other minor deals before the deadline. Andrei Kuzmenko was flipped to the Los Angeles Kings for a 2027 third-round pick in a deal that he said “kind of came out of the blue today,” but “just made sense,” considering Kuzmenko is a pending unrestricted free agent.
Erik Johnson, who played 13 seasons for the Colorado Avalanche and still maintains a home in the Denver area, was traded back to his former club for forward and tough guy Givani Smith, who will be reassigned to the Phantoms. That deal, according to Briere, was “a favor for (Johnson) to go chase a Cup.”
But the Laughton deal was the most newsworthy of the day, considering his value on and off the ice and his extended history with the organization. The hope is that the return will provide a boost in several years, when the Flyers are prepared to shoot for the Stanley Cup again.
i’ll miss u, king pic.twitter.com/biPwx8Nyo4
— Gritty (@GrittyNHL) March 7, 2025
The fact that the first-round pick the Flyers received for Laughton isn’t until 2027 “was preferable,” Briere said, as they already have three first-round picks in 2025 and one in 2026. By the time that 2027 draft rolls around, the Flyers may be looking to add complementary pieces to what they hope is a solid foundation, with the club in prime position to make a deep playoff run. They could deal one of those two picks for help while retaining the other.
“At some point, we hope to be one of those teams on the other side of the fence that are looking to acquire players,” Briere said. “Those first-round picks you saw today, you see on draft day — they’re so valuable.”
It will take further work to get to that point, of course. Flyers fans are still waiting for Briere to take a big swing at a major name, something that could happen as soon as this summer. While that will probably have to be in the form of a major trade, Briere didn’t shoot down a suggestion that the Flyers, now with an ample amount of salary cap space this coming offseason, could wade into free agency.
In fact, he even conceded that the rebuild is “probably progressing a little quicker than I even expected.” The early arrival and steady improvement of rookie Matvei Michkov are surely part of that, but other young players such as Noah Cates, Tyson Foerster, Cam York, Sam Ersson and others have all improved to varying degrees, too.
So, when will be the time to buy rather than sell?
“I wish it was now. The team will let us know,” Briere said. “I think we’re getting closer and closer. We’re looking into it now. It wasn’t quite the right time. But more importantly, it’s finding the right player. … That’s what we’re trying to be careful with.”
For the Maple Leafs, that player is Laughton. The Flyers, who know him better than anyone, probably figure they’re making a good bet.
“The type of person he is, the teammate that he is, how helpful he was to just his teammates, the coaching staff, the community, him and his wife … it was tough to let him go,” Briere said.
(Photo of Scott Laughton: Eric Hartline / Imagn Images)
