“I’m told the Flyers have been engaged with the Blues, among other teams, on Laughton…I know the Blues put on the table one of pick 25 or 29 AND a 2nd round pick. I was told a 1st + a 2nd.”
That's Frank Seravalli. Not some schlub grifter. It's not like the Flyers didn't openly admit they wouldn't trade Laughton for even fair value. You don't even have to read the tea leaves -- it's spelled out on the foil wrapper.
That's hogwash, my dude. The Flyers are so proud of themselves for keeping Gauthier a secret, under some delusion it would sink his value, but aside from that, there's been nothing tight about it.
We know Sanheim was almost traded for Krug, if he waived his NTC. We know they wanted to re-sign Seeler and Walker. We know they wanted a depth veteran defender and, lo and behold, Johnson is a Flyer a day later. We know they tried to trade Gauthier for 5th overall or Byram and that he had an 18-20 team trade list. They openly admit how much they want RHD, and somehow every premium asset has gone into them. They've pretty much telegraphed everything.
On the table does not mean that's the entire deal. It just means it was just that - on the table. Was that the whole deal? Multiple
other sources have confirmed that it was part of a larger deal. And not one other source confirmed Seravalli's thoughts on it. It doesn't invalidate it; just means that we don't actually know the full story. Supposedly, it may have even been linked directly to the Sanheim deal. I've even read that the full scope of the deal was 1st + 2nd + Krug for Laughton + Sanheim. It may be true; it may not be. But it's certainly not a fact. Frank Seravalli also had Walker to EDM, DAL or WPG. He did not have a single inkling to COL. Didn't even mention them as a possibility. Nobody is disputing his reliability as a reporter; but inside sources are just that - possibilities - but we never get the full information, so claiming those as fact is disingenuous.
We know Sanheim was almost traded for Krug because that leak came from the Krug's agent when he was asked to waive his NTC. You know what we don't know? What the exact conditions of the deals were, what the other parts were, etc. Because nobody except the two GMs do, and they won't talk about it. The only reason we know those were two pieces was from Krug's side, not even the Flyers. The Flyers can control what they say; they can't control what other teams and players say/do. This has been well confirmed that the leak came on that side.
The Gauthier trade? Not one person in the media had any clue. We only know they tried to trade for Byram
after the deal was already complete! Friedman reported it after the deal was done and "did some digging" that they tried to trade him last year. Not even sure how this is relevant.
There are many disputable things; whether they overvalue Laughton, or are really rebuilding and not tanking; no issue on those types of discussions. But 3 examples where folks had little to no idea of deals happening is a trend - means that at least, from that perspective, this org does it well.