The big night is finally here for Scott Laughton.
After he was forced to miss Toronto’s earlier visit in November due to injury, the 31-year-old is set to play his first game back in Philadelphia since the trade prior to last year’s deadline. It took him a while, but Laughton has really found his footing in the Maple Leafs’ lineup after a very slow and injury riddled start to his 25-26 campaign.
Indisputably, that’s the big story heading into Thursday night as Craig Berube’s bunch will put their seven game point streak on the line. That said, we kicked off the Thursday edition of Leafs Morning Take by honouring an absolute great. On Wednesday night, it was announced that Hall of Famer Glenn Hall, who once made 502 consecutive starts in between the pipes, passed away at the age of 94. He won two Stanley Cups, one Conn Smythe, three Vezinas, and one Calder as the NHL’s top rookie. Talk about a resume. Hall spent 10 of his 18 NHL seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks.
As mentioned, the Leafs have been red-hot, so naturally, everyone’s back aboard and we’re discussing ways to improve the roster. Is it time for another reunion with Luke Schenn? We debated the idea after news broke from The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta that the 36-year-old, who’s in a contract year, could be open to a change of scenery. It’s been a bizarre year in Winnipeg. They went from winning the Presidents’ Trophy last season to sitting dead last. Wild stuff.
After that, we offered up a full-fledged game preview. The bad news is that the Leafs have dropped five straight on the road. The good news is that they’ve completely owned the Flyers over the past few seasons. In fact, they’ve won four in a row against them – including a decisive 5-2 triumphant on November 1st – and nine of 10 overall meetings. Obviously, all eyes will be on Laughton. Since he returned from injury on November 20th, Toronto’s penalty kill has motored along at a ridiculous 91.5% clip, which unsurprisingly is tops in the NHL.
To help us break things down, TSN Hockey Analyst Carlo Colaiacovo dropped by the show. Like Jay Rosehill, Coco was teammates with Laughton Philadelphia, so obviously, he offered up a unique perspective ahead of the Oakville native’s return to a place he called home for many years. Coco dished on Laughton’s impact recently & if he would re-sign him. Spoiler: Yes, he would. On top of the Laughton’s discussion, Carlo dished on Matthews’ red-hot play, what’s changed since Marc Savard got canned, and if he thinks the Leafs end up making the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Plenty headed your way on Friday. We’ll recap Leafs/Flyers, look ahead to Saturday night’s home tilt with the Vancouver Canucks, and All Elite Wrestling’s Adam Copeland will drop by the show once again.
You can subscribe to TheLeafsNation (TLN) YouTube channel HERE. Additionally, we’re available in podcast form, too —wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re at it, be sure to leave us a 5-star review!