Kings' Scott Laughton Expected To Re-Sign With Toronto Maple Leafs

Sounds like Scott Laughton's stay in Los Angeles is going to be a short one.

The Kings center was acquired ahead of the trade deadline from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and there's been a ton of speculation that Laughton would be looking to re-join the Leafs once free agency opens July 1.

Maple Leafs head coach spoke about Laughton's future, which is a rare scene in the NHL to see another head coach talking about an opposing player re-joining this team in a couple of months. “I could see it, for sure,” Berube says. “He really liked it in Toronto. And he’s from around there, too. So I think that was a bit of a dream for him to go back home and play. Yeah, I could see him going back there, for sure.”

Scott Laughton catching up with the boys 🥹 pic.twitter.com/84dwjHJSdi
— Leafs Papi (@LeafsPapi_) April 4, 2026

Laughton's former teammate Steven Lorentz also chimed in recently with his thoughts on Laughton returning to Toronto:

That’d be awesome. We would welcome him back with open arms. I know there’s a lot of guys in this locker room who feel the same way. You win with guys like Scott. He’s a glue guy. He plays a game the right way. He plays hard. And he’s definitely got the skill, offensively and defensively, to be out there in all situations. So, yeah, a lot of Laughton fans over here still. It’s sad we had to get rid of him. But he’s a free agent, so we’ll see what happens.

The Kings came back to defeat the Maple Leafs 7-6 in a wild contest Saturday night. Laughton finished the night playing 15:06, winning 70% of his faceoffs and landing one hit. With Auston Matthews and John Tavares returning next season, and with Nic Roy already moved, the Leafs will certainly have interest in re-signing Laughton for their third-line center slot.