Before the 2025-26 season begins, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced Friday that they will start the season without depth forward Scott Laughton, who suffered a lower injury in the preseason against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night. As of now, Lawton is listed as a weekly.
The Maple Leafs seem to have an opening lineup against the Red Wings, with Lawton online with Stephen Lorenz and Easton Cowan. But with the injury news, this opened the door for David Kämpf, bringing himself back to a possible opening night.
“It’s a huge loss for him and us,” said head coach Craig Berube. “It’s a bad break. His camp is really good. Yes, it’s hard for everyone.”
As for Laughton, he got a good start in the preseason after sending him a deal from the Philadelphia Pilot to the Maple Leafs, after finishing the season in 2024-25.
Laughton finished the year with just 2 goals and 4 points in 20 games to end the regular season until the team was removed from the second round of the playoffs by the Stanley Cup.
“It’s hard,” he said frankly, the maple leaf trade. “The hardest part is, of course, leaving Philadelphia. You grew up there, we put kids there, and there are things like that. You build things there, and I think you’re a deep-rooted leaflet. So it’s a different feeling to be here.”
In 681 professional regular season games, Laugon has 108 goals and 269 points, but has established himself as a strong shutdown option as a depth move forward. His defensive zone game makes him one of the most coveted options for that kind of role-player, which is why the Maple Leafs followed him on last season’s trade deadline.
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Despite being disappointed with the team, the injury did give the Maple Leafs more time figuring out what to do with players like Kämpf, Nicholas Robertson and Calle Järnkrok, and the roster was completely healthy again. Currently, Laugon joins goalkeeper Joseph Woll as two final regulars who won’t start the season with the team.
