SCOTT LAUGHTON DISCUSSES 'DECOMPRESSING' FROM THIS SEASON, WANTING TO STAY WITH FLYERS

Scott Laughton was visibly emotional after the Philadelphia Flyers' season ended against the Washington Capitals on Apr. 16, reflecting the mood of that final game—sheer frustration and disappointment.

It was something even the most veteran players admitted they had never experienced before, and Laughton admitted it would take some time to process what happened.

"Hopefully, [it will sink in] in a couple of weeks," he said. "It is still pretty early. It's tough when we put ourselves in such a good spot at the start of the year. You're pushing towards that goal of making the playoffs and you get that taste a little bit. You want to get back there. I haven't experienced playoff hockey in Philly in quite some time. There's nothing really like it.

"This one stings the most out of my career. I think just because of the way it went down, and just a stretch that we went through at the end of the year where we could have been a lot different. A lot of progress was made, and you got to look at that too. Some of the young guys and some of the older guys are taking a bigger step in our organization, and we'll go from there."

In Laughton's eyes, there's a lot to sort through when it comes to dissecting what went wrong during the season, because there's no one single thing to blame.

"Yeah, I don't know," he said. "I have to kind of decompress here and see what went wrong. Our penalty kill kind of let us down during that streak. Our power play, it's actually pretty impressive what we did all year with our power play the way it was and not scoring goals. I think your power play wins you games during the year and it didn't win us many games this year. Our five-on-five play was pretty strong, and we let in a ton of goals during that stretch. I don't think it was lack of work or anything like that."

That being said, the Flyers' alternate captain believes that the team now understand just how tight playoff races can get, and that they will be able to learn from this experience.

"I think we're still competing, still in games," he said. "Some of those things in conference games kind of hurt us. Even before that, you have a chance with Pittsburgh and the Islanders when they come in. Games like that kind of sting you and that’s what sets you back. Not even a game losing streak, but some games before that were where you kind of could have put the team's away that were chasing you. We just didn't find a way. Guys know how important points are in this league and how close it comes down to. Every game matters and every point matters. I think we still have some learning to do."

The young players especially now know firsthand just how much every game can feel like a Game 7, even if it is, as Travis Konecny put it, "a Tuesday night in a random city."

"Absolutely," Laughton agreed. "You're in the NHL. This is your job to perform and to show up every night. That's probably the biggest issue I had early on in my career was consistency on a night-to-night basis. I still had some of those issues this year of that. It's consistency every night, and you see those teams that are at the top of the standings every year. They don't lose two in a row. They go on streaks. They go into road cities, and they win games, and tough ones, back-to-back, things like that. That's where we want to get. I think we made some really good progress from last year where it kind of felt a lot different, but this was a good stepping stone. As I look back on it, as I decompress and try to get over this, that's what you're trying to take from it and go into the summer."

As one of the longest-serving players in the locker room, a personal hiccup this season was having his name brought up in trade rumors as this year's March trade deadline neared. For Laughton, he knew where he stood throughout the haze of outsider speculation, and he knows one thing for certain—he wants to remain a Flyer.

"When my name was in rumors, I got a call from Torts right away," he revealed. "We had a good chat about it. All of them were very upfront with me, kind of what they saw and what they were thinking. I was never in the dark, which was a really good feeling. You don't see your team president and owner coming down and shaking your hand after every game. Danny's in the locker room and that feeling makes the players, I don’t know, not want to play for you, but it is. You want to be a part of this. Those guys care and you see it on a day-to-day basis, especially with Dan Hilferty and Jonesy. You don't see that with many teams. They're there. They're active with us and they're around all the time. They let you know. I think it's so beneficial not only for the young guys, but the older guys to feel that. It feels like a family.

"I want to be here. I've made it pretty clear. I want to be a part of this. I accept my role, wherever it is. I built a life here. I want to see it succeed and I want to be a part of this city when we're at the top. I came in after a couple of big playoff series in 2010-11. I felt the energy and we started to get it back this year. I really want to be a part of this, so we'll see what happens here...I love it here and I want to be here. I want to win here and that's what I want to do."

Having already changed his mindset partway through the season in order to pull himself out of a slump period, Laughton plans on continuing to improve over the summer so he can help bring playoff hockey back to the Wells Fargo Center.

"I wasn't playing as well as I’d like to and you kind of start seeing more limited, I guess situations throughout the year," he said. "Still think I was a good teammate and everything like that. I was pretty hard on myself and hard on myself away from the rink and after break. I changed my mindset of not letting it affect me as much. I think it kind of eats at you, and from then on, I started playing a little bit of better hockey and contributing a little bit more and playing more freely. Not thinking as much I think, when I'm thinking out there, it's not the best. So, try and trust my instincts and be a physical player that brings value. So yeah, I'll continue to work on it. I do a lot of stuff away from the ice like that and continue to get better."

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