Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube was impressed with what Scott Laughton provided down the stretch and during the playoffs.

The forward was acquired as one of the primary additions during the 2025 trade deadline in a major transaction with the Philadelphia Flyers. Having been part of that organization for nearly 13 years, the toll of moving to a different franchise took its toll on Laughton. Once he got better acclimated to his new surroundings, Laughton was able to cement himself as a dependable shutdown forward in the bottom-six.

“It took him a bit to get comfortable with the situation,” Berube said during an appearance on the Nasty Knuckles Podcast. “That is always normal with trades for a lot of players. So once he got comfortable, then he got some chemistry with some players, and then got his role down a bit, he was really good for us.”

He may not have lit up the scoresheet as he was only able to muster up two assists in 13 playoff games, but Laughton provided some integral defensive play for the Leafs and in the playoffs. He along with Steven Lorentz and Calle Jarnkrok became Berube’s go-to shutdown line, where they helped limit the Ottawa Senators’ scoring chances and laid a big block that helped lead to William Nylander’s series-clinching goal. Laughton’s coach had a hunch that things were going to work out for him even when things were not clicking in the early going, which included a 10-game drought to begin his Leafs tenure.

“Laughts is a good guy in the locker room and a character guy,” Berube said. “That checking line, the gamesmanship he plays with, penalty killing and stuff like that. So I thought they were really good for us. He was really good for us and I thought they did a good job.”

Now that the 30-year-old has gotten through his first few months with his hometown team, the offseason should help him get further acclimated to his surroundings in preparation for his first full season donning the Blue and White. The extended time will only do wonders in getting him more at ease with the transition and, ideally, even better offensive production than what he could muster at first.

That also means more run-ins with the likes of the Senators and Florida Panthers, which may include more curfuffles with the likes of his long-time teammate Claude Giroux should he remain in the Nation’s Capital.

“You want to try to get under his skin a little bit, so Laughts was telling me all of this stuff he was saying to him. I got a chuckle out of it cause I laugh at that stuff,” he said. “But it was good. They are old teammates, but when you play in the playoffs, that all changes, right? Laughts has got gamesmanship, which is good and you need that. He definitely was trying to get under the skin of G in that series. He played well in that series, and his line was pretty effective for us.”