It was a long-rumoured trade, and the Leafs paid up to some extent to get it done. It’s a lot to give up at first blush, but that’s the NHL trade market at this deadline, and Scott Laughton at just $1.5 million through the end of next season is excellent value, as is fetching some additional draft picks for flexibility (in addition to keeping their 2026 first).
I wrote about Laughton last month:
Scott Laughton’s name has come up for well over a year now as a prototypical 3C option for the Leafs, and it resurfaced again when he scored against the Leafs a few weeks ago in their home-and-home series.