Philadelphia Flyers: Three breakout candidates for the 2021 season

2. Scott Laughton

Oh man, where do we even begin with Scott Laughton. Talk about a guy who kept grinding and grinding until it finally paid off. A first-round pick all the way back in 2012 and a veteran of now over 300 career NHL games (321 to be exact), you would think that by now we would know what Laughton is at this point in his career.

Well, spending the past few seasons as merely an after thought fourth line player, he absolutely exploded for the Philadelphia Flyers this past season. Okay, exploded may be an overstatement, but man was he darn good for the Orange and Black. Through 49 regular season games in 2019-2020, Scott Laughton scored 13 goals and added 14 assists (27 points), and transformed himself into a fan favorite with his gritty hard nosed play night in and night out.

Fast forward to the postseason, and it seemed whenever the Orange and Black needed a big goal, Scott Laughton was there to deliver. Sure, he was a healthy scratch at one point in the playoffs, but he totally redeemed himself with the overtime winner in Game 5 against the Islanders in round two, and then doubled down a few nights later when he scored a massive goal to tie Game 6 with under 10 minutes to play, a game the Flyers went on to win in double overtime forcing a Game 7.

Yeah, the Flyers did go on to lose that Game 7 which takes a bit of the shine away from Laughton’s heroics, but at the end of the day you can’t take away those goals in those moments. Simply put, Laughton was a player who could be counted on for the Fly Guys.

Now at 26 years old and with a solid amount of NHL experience under his belt, it looks as if Laughton has figured out what works best for him at this level, and he is a much better player for it. Do I believe he will ever be a point per game type of player? I would say that is unlikely, but with his strong two way game and enough ice time, I absolutely believe he could become a 50 point player for the Philadelphia Flyers.

If last year proved anything, it is that the Flyers are a better team when Laughton is playing his game, and he will be counted on in a bigger way this upcoming season then we may have envisioned even prior to last season.

The Orange and Black have high aspirations this upcoming season, and Laughton will be a huge part of it all.