When the Toronto Maple Leafs were struggling at the end of December, I had a chance to speak to Scott Laughton following a practice in D.C.. This came after they played arguably their worst game of the season—a 4-0 loss on the road against the Washington Capitals. “We can get through this and I firmly believe we can be better after going through this,” he insisted. “We’re not playing the way we want to be, but it just takes getting connected as a group. Lots of great teams have had this type of adversity in a season and have gone on to do great things”.
Just days after speaking to me, the Leafs went on to lose games against the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars, getting swept on their three-game road trip. At that point, the Leafs were dead last in the Eastern Conference. They dismissed assistant coach Marc Savard because they felt they had to make a change; it was an easy decision given he oversaw a power play that had fallen to the bottom of the league.
But as the Leafs started turning things around, Laughton went to work lifting the spirits of his teammates. At home, he elected to put $250 of his own money on the board to incentivize his teammates to have a good showing at practice. A normally tense room began to open up. This handiwork was documented in the latest episode of the team’s digital series. When I asked other players about it, many said they had never experienced a player being mic’d up for a practice before. This may be because the team hasn’t been open to that kind of access in the past.
Toronto also got a bit healthier, though they have lost some key players as well, notably Chris Tanev, who might be out for the remainder of the season. Through it all, Laughton has brought a vibe that has made some of the most tight-wound personalities relax. “He brings spirit,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said of Laughton.
Feeling good and lightening up is helpful, but how does that turn into results? Look no further than what Laughton did in his first game back in Philadelphia, where he spent the first 12 years of his career. Down 1-0 late in the third period and facing a 3-on-5 situation, the version of the Leafs from December would have been written off for dead. Instead, Laughton scored the shorthanded revenge goal to tie it up before rookie Easton Cowan scored the winner in overtime. The revenge goal—something that always seems to happen against Toronto—went the other way for a change.
The Leafs followed that with a 5-0 win against the Vancouver Canucks, improving their record to 7-0-2 in those games. Meanwhile, Laughton went an impressive 36-for-40 in the faceoff circle over that two-game stretch. You can see the change in the way the Leafs now stick up for each other. The moment a scrum ensued in front of Toronto’s net, everyone joined the fray, including Easton Cowan.
“You can just see everybody. They’re like… I call it a pack of wolves,” Berube said. “Get in there and stick up for your teammates and your goalie—and Cowboy (Cowan) is in there. It’s good. We’re tight right now. We’ve got to keep being tight”.
That’s Berube’s way of saying they’re finally a team. It’s the attitude that had been sorely lacking from the club, and Laughton has helped inject that into the Blue and White. Now it’s just a matter of whether they can carry it over. The Leafs are still on the outside looking in when it comes to a playoff spot. But the vibes are good and, more importantly, they’re different. When it comes to Toronto’s track record of playoff struggles, different is good.