Philadelphia Flyers Final Player Grades: Scott Laughton

Since the 2019-20 NHL regular season is almost definitely over, we can grade out the performances of each Philadelphia Flyers player. This time we look at Scott Laughton.

Cutting right to the chase, no player on the Philadelphia Flyers improved his value to the team more during the 2019-20 season than center Scott Laughton.

It’s a topic I discussed a few months ago, back when this Flyers season seemed so promising before the NHL pause that now looks to be putting even the Stanley Cup Playoffs in jeopardy. As for Laughton, though, the season was a big success.

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Laughton did sustain a pair of injuries that caused him to miss some time, but he was highly effective for the team during his 49 games played. Even in a shortened season, he managed a career-high 13 goals, and his 27 points were just 5 shy of his previous best of 32. If not for the injuries and the league shutdown, he would have blown by that number.

But despite showing some regular flashes of the kind of skill that contributed to the Flyers taking Laughton with their first-round pick way back in 2012, his calling card remained his strong defensive play. As such, he was leaned on for 1:42 per game in shorthanded situations, which was third-most among the team’s forwards after Sean Couturier and Kevin Hayes.

Laughton posted a +14 rating, the first time in his career that he’s been a plus player. But it did come with a degree of luck, as his advanced metrics showed that the Flyers’ opponents generally carried the play in terms of shot attempts while Laughton was on the ice at even strength. Furthermore, his PDO, which I discussed recently in a dissection of Robert Hagg’s season, was comically high. With Laughton on the ice, the Flyers scored on 15.1% of the shots they put on net this year, a number that led the team. His overall PDO of 105.2 wasn’t as fortunate as Hagg’s 106.3, but it still qualifies as unsustainably lucky.

Still, even though the analytics folks might grouse about Laughton not being as valuable as he might appear, I can confirm from watching him on a nightly basis this season that he looked like a new player. 2018-19 was a step in the right direction after several years of uncertainty, and 2019-20 only served to cement his place on the Flyers for years to come (although some think that he might be fodder for Seattle’s expansion draft in 2021).

It’s taken me a while personally to come around on Laughton, and it’s still best not to think of him as a former first-round pick. If you just look at him objectively, however, you can see a confident player who’s doing a lot to help the Flyers game in and game out.

B+. <strong>It took a long time for Scott Laughton to shake off the “bust” label that many had already slapped on him. But, better late than never, as his play this season provided the Flyers a big boost, especially after their depth down the middle was tested due to the absence of Nolan Patrick. Laughton looks like he has established a baseline for seasons to come, and he’s no longer “fourth line only” material.</strong>. C. Philadelphia Flyers. SCOTT LAUGHTON

Next. Flyers Grades: Robert Hagg. dark

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