Flyers coach Tortorella lauds Maple Leafs' Scott Laughton: 'Foundation guy'

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Scott Laughton is going to be just fine with the Maple Leafs.

Take it from someone who would know better than anyone: John Tortorella.

The coach of the Philadelphia Flyers recognizes the significant change it has been for Laughton, on and off the ice, since the Leafs acquired the 30-year-old forward from the Flyers on March 7.

Tortorella’s message on Tuesday morning at Scotiabank Arena: Give it some time.

“The way I can explain him, he’s just full of the glue of a locker room,” Tortorella said. “To have that foundation guy to understand the small things before you even get on the ice, to help kind of transport that over to our younger guys, I thought he was very important that way.

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“I know in talking to him, he’s just trying to keep his head down and trying to fit in where, when he would walk into the locker room in Philly, he would take it over.

“I hope people are patient with him because it’s a huge adjustment for him, but you’re going to find out what he’s about eventually here.”

The two have had the opportunity to catch up since the Flyers arrived in Toronto ahead of the game on Tuesday night.

As it turns out, the Flyers are staying at the same downtown hotel where Laughton has taken up residence since the trade. After Laughton said his room “was pretty close to Torts,” the coach added some clarity, with a joke at Laughton’s expense.

“He’s next to me,” Tortorella said. ‘I said, ‘Stay in your room, I’ll stay in mine. I don’t even want to see you.’”

Laughton continues to try to find a groove with the Leafs. He doesn’t have a point in eight games, has just six shots on goal and is playing on the wing.

That’s not where the Leafs envisioned him lining up when they traded for him, though there remains time for Laughton to get his game in order and entrench himself in the centre spot on the third line.

After Philadelphia drafted him 20th overall in 2012, Laughton established himself as an industrious player in the NHL and had 265 points in 669 games with the Flyers before the trade.

As he said the day before, Laughton acknowledged on Tuesday morning that it was going to be different to face the only other NHL team he has known.

“Looking at the pre-scout and I’m in some of the clips, so definitely a little weird,” Laughton said. “But we’ll take it as it goes and get a good sleep in this afternoon and get back on track.”

There’s no question that the Leafs should beat the Flyers, whose main goal now is to keep the Buffalo Sabres at bay to stay out of the Eastern Conference basement.

Toronto has 22 more points than Philadelphia and has won 10 of the past 11 meetings.

But if the Leafs come with the same approach they had in their most recent game, a 5-2 loss on Saturday in Nashville against the lowly Predators, there could be trouble.

“I think (the Leafs) are upset about (that loss), for sure,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “It’s a learning lesson, in my opinion, that you can’t get impatient in your game and get away from your game. Nobody is happy about it.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun