Flyers Sign Laughton to Extension; Trade Raffl, Gustafsson

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

One of the headlining names on trade deadline day was that of Scott Laughton. It was no secret that the forward drafted by the Flyers in 2012 was possibly on the trading block. It was also no secret that both the player and organization wanted to stay together moving forward.

As the deadline hour approached, there were ongoing talks that the Flyers were working on an extension for Laughton. Less than an hour until the trade deadline, Laughton is here to stay, signing a five-year contract extension with an average annual value of $3 million.

Laughton, 26, was in the final season of a two-year deal worth $2.3 million. He has seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points in 38 games this season. Laughton also had a career-high 13 goals and 27 points in 49 games in the 2019-20 season.

In his eight-year career, all with the Flyers, Laughton has scored 51 goals and 72 assists in 359 games played.

As for the rest of the deadline, Chuck Fletcher did make two deals by the 3 p.m. deadline. The Flyers traded defenseman Erik Gustafsson to the Montreal Canadiens for a 2022 seventh-round pick. The Flyers also retained 50 percent of Gustafsson's salary for the remainder of the season.

Gustafsson was signed in the offseason to a one-year, $3 million deal. Gustafsson scored one goal and had 10 points in 24 games this season.

The Flyers also made a deal right at the deadline, sending Michael Raffl to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a fifth-round pick. 

Raffl had spent the previous eight seasons with the Flyers. This season, he had three goals and eight points in 34 games played. Over his career, Raffl had 81 goals and 79 assists for 160 points in 504 NHL games.

Fletcher is addressing the media shortly after the deadline expires. More to come with his comments on the deadline later tonight.