Just before the final seconds and minutes of the trade deadline on the block on March 6, the Los Angeles Kings and general manager Ken Holland got one final deal in for the active roster lineup on Friday afternoon. The Kings and Holland made a trade deal on the block with the Toronto Maple Leafs for veteran center Scott Laughton in exchange for a conditional third-round draft pick.
Los Angeles Kings get a proven center with valuable experience at a good price at the trade deadline for Scott Laughton from Toronto
If the Kings make the playoffs in the postseason this upcoming spring in the next couple of months, the draft pick turns into a second-round draft pick this season.
The Kings' team officially announced the trade on social media on Friday afternoon (March 6). This is the second time in as many years that Laughton has been traded at the deadline on the block in this past couple of regular seasons in the East.
This past regular season in the East, the Maple Leafs traded for Laughton at the trade deadline for a first-round draft pick and forward prospect Nikita Grebenkin last year.
Holland, new interim head coach DJ Smith, and the Kings are getting a proven veteran with experience playing multiple situations on special teams as a crucial penalty killer. He's also a proven two-way player who brings physicality, competitiveness, and recent playoff experience with the Maple Leafs in Toronto.
Laughton has played most of his career in the league in the NHL over the past decade or so as a middle-six or bottom-six center in the East. He's played in a bottom-six center position role between the third and the fourth-line forward core groups for the Maple Leafs in Toronto this regular season.
This regular season in the East in the Atlantic Division, Laughton has played in 48 games with eight goals and a dozen total points. This helps the Kings get more depth and quality minutes on special teams on the penalty kill in the middle of the active roster lineup this regular season in the West at the center position.
I think Holland and the Kings' front office did a nice job of acquiring a player who was one of the most highly-sought after two-way centers in the East this past regular season at the trade deadline in the 2024-25 campaign for a cheap asking price from the Maple Leafs in Toronto.