I mean, the idea is that with Laughton, on an ideal contender, he is a 3W or 4C and he can be effective in that role so it's easy to see how it translates. But he's also got plenty of "headroom" to play up the lineup as a complementary "3rd wheel" who also brings grit.
He's within the Top-190ish forwards for P/GP production this year and even more comfortably on bulk rate, with basically none of that bolstered by powerplay scoring. That's firmly ~Top-6ish scoring range...from largely bottom-6 type minutes. Including a ton of PK time. That's exactly what contenders will pay up for at the deadline, because that's where they're going to want to play him and still get production. In the bottom-6 where he can chip in some offense and eating a bunch of PK minutes, as opposed to having to spoonfeed Top-6 minutes and PP time to get anything out of him. While still knowing that he has a little bit of potential to slide up the lineup when injuries pile up as well. Especially with C/W versatility, coach approved all-around game, and bringing some measure of grit to whatever role he's in.
All it takes is a few teams to really like the way that glorified Bottom-6C/W would fill out the lower half of their depth chart and bring some meaningful impact from a smaller role, and the bidding war is on.
