Scott Laughton Reflects On Maple Leafs Tenure, ‘A Little Bit’ Surprised In Club’s Lack Of Immediate Response To Auston Matthews Hit
In a 1-on-1 conversation with The Hockey News on Sunday, Scott Laughton reflects on his trade to the Los Angeles Kings, his former team's lack of response to the hit on their captain, the pressure of playing in Toronto and the possibility of re-joining the Leafs down the road.
Video Transcript
Well, the Leafs are likely gonna have some drastic changes to their lineup over the next few seasons here, Mike.
Do you think Cowan has shown in this short time, again, admittedly, it is a, a small sample size, but do you think he's shown that his time in the NHL, that he can be a pivotal part of this team's future?
I do.
I think he, you know, we know his junior record.
We know he, you know, won everything, including, a Memorial Cup in his final year in junior.
And, it's a situation where I think the treatment and the application of him at, at the NHL level is exhibit A of why Craig Berube is gonna end up without a job.
Because they played him on the fourth line, they played him on the third line with a couple guys like Dakota Joshua and Nick Waugh, who are not particularly off- offensive players.
only when they were completely out of it had they moved him into the top six, and the most glaring thing of all was around the Olympic break, they healthy scratched him before the Olympic break, could not send him down to the minors because they, played him too many games before the, the break, and then sc- healthy scratched him after.
So he was out for basically a month.
He was healthy, but he was not played.
that's, that's absurd for a 20-year-old player.
He needs to play in the American Hockey League or he needs to be in the lineup.
But when he's been in the lineup, he's been very effective, now playing in an offensive role.
And even more important than that, after Austin Matthews got hit by Radko Gudas, Cowan was on the ice.
He's the only one that you could forgive because it's-- he's a 20-year-old kid.
The other players, the veterans who did, who tuck tailed and ran when Math- when Matthews was, on the i-ice injured.
John Tavares was hit in the game against Boston earlier this week, and a six-foot, hundred-and-eighty-five-pound Cowan jumped on six-foot-seven Nikita Zadorov.
That's what you need, and this kid learned his lesson.
And I'm not saying he's gonna be a leader 'cause he's only 20 years old, but that he led by example in that respect, and I think that more of that is needed in Toronto.
