You rarely look at a trade and wonder what both teams are doing. That was the reaction to the news that the Toronto Maple Leafs traded Scott Laughton to the Los Angeles Kings for a third-round pick in the dying moments of the trade deadline. In Brad Treliving's defense, Laughton's play this season didn't lend him much more value, but a comedy of errors led to this disaster.
The Maple Leafs acquired Scott Laughton for a first-round pick and Nikita Grebenkin at last year's trade deadline. He was a solid depth option for Toronto, but it seemed a bit pricy at the time. To no one's surprise, Laughton didn't have a massive impact on the team, and they still bowed out early in the 2025 postseason.
To send out such great assets for Laughton just a year ago and then get only a third-round pick is a massive miss for Treliving. Some of the blame has to be on Craig Berube, as he sort of cratered Laughton's stock by never playing him above the bottom-six and giving him some of the lowest minutes in the forward group, even when it looked like the Maple Leafs weren't a playoff team.
The Kings are stuck in the middle between being buyers and sellers. They traded Corey Perry earlier on Friday for a second-round pick, and then acquired Laughton for a third. They also traded Warren Foegele to the Ottawa Senators for a second-round pick on Thursday. At the trade deadline, teams have to decide between being buyers and sellers, and Ken Holland went smack-dab in the middle.
Scott Laughton's future with the Kings
The Laughton trade tree for the Leafs is wild to see. The outgoing assets in the tree are a first-round pick, Laughton, and Grebenkin. The incoming are three mid-round picks. It isn't exactly great asset management from Treliving.
With Laughton on an expiring contract, it's possible that the Kings feel like the chance to sign him to a long-term contract extension might be worth the third-round pick. There could also be a chance that there is an unspoken agreement between Treliving and Laughton that he'll return in free agency.
The most ironic ending to this saga would be new Kings head coach DJ Smith playing Laughton higher up the lineup and the depth forward showing that the Maple Leafs should've been using him there all along. If that happens, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment will already be drawing up the termination of Treliving and Berube.
Maple Leafs, Kings trade grades
What do you get when you have two out-of-touch general managers negotiating a deal in the dying minutes of trade deadline day? The Scott Laughton trade.
This deal isn't going to pan out well for either general manager, and even if Laughton returns in free agency, the trade tree he leaves behind will haunt Treliving for as long as he remains the Maple Leafs' general manager.
The third-round pick from the Kings becomes a second if Laughton helps them make the postseason. That clause in the deal was a good move by Treliving, except that the Kings were sellers on deadline day until they made this move, which dramatically hurts their chances of making the playoffs.
In a trade deadline day that was a bit of a dud, this move shows that maybe general managers shouldn't make deals just for the sake of making them.
Maple Leafs grade: D-
Kings grade: D (maybe a D+ if Laughton re-signs)
