Scott Laughton's goodbye post to Toronto goes viral

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Oakville native thanks Maple Leafs fans and city for ‘dream come true’

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Published Mar 07, 2026 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 2 minute read

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Scott Laughton, seen here with the Maple Leafs prior to playing against the Senators in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on April 22, 2025, was traded to the Los Angeles Kings at the NHL trade deadline on Friday. Photo by Claus Andersen / Files /Getty ImagesArticle content

Scott Laughton didn’t leave town before tugging at the heartstrings.

After he was traded Friday to the Los Angeles Kings by the Maple Leafs, the 31-year-old Laughton posted on X a short message: “Thank you Toronto. Dream come true.”

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The post was accompanied by a photo and video of Laughton greeting his son Reed at the corner glass during warmups of Leafs home games.

The post went viral and by Saturday night had garnered more than 337,000 views on X.

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A native of Oakville, Laughton was thrilled when the Leafs acquired him from the Philadelphia Flyers a year ago, and the thinking was that if all had gone well in 2025-26, an extension for the centre might have been in order at some point before he reached unrestricted free agency this summer.

After the season went off the rails for the Leafs, however, general manager Brad Treliving became a seller before the deadline, trading Laughton to L.A., Bobby McMann to the Seattle Kraken and Nicolas Roy to the Colorado Avalanche in the past few days.

Will wear No. 21 in Los Angeles

The Leafs acquired a conditional third-round pick in 2026 from the Kings for Laughton, who will wear No. 21 with his new team. Against Montreal on Saturday night, Laughton scored in his Kings debut.

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If Los Angeles makes the Stanley Cup playoffs this spring, the pick becomes a second-round pick this year. The second-rounder would be one that originally belonged to the Buffalo Sabres and was acquired by the Kings.

With the Kings, Laughton is reunited with interim head coach D.J. Smith. The latter coached Laughton for two seasons with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League from 2012-14.

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As he became comfortable in the Leafs room, Laughton emerged as a popular teammate.

“Two great guys,” Leafs captain Auston Matthews said on Saturday after he was asked about Laughton and McMann. “Laughty fit in right away (and) he was only here for a year. A lot of guys knew him from the Toronto area. Just an incredible guy.

“Bobby had a long journey and a long path to get to where he is now. We wish those guys nothing but the best. They are guys you will keep in touch with throughout the years.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun