John Tortorella reiterates that the Flyers ‘can’t fall in love’ with players like Scott Laughton as the trade deadline nears

Scott Laughton is used to the chatter.

The Flyers alternate captain is used to his name coming up around the NHL trade deadline.

“You just go on, business as usual. I understand it’s a business, and [general manager] Danny [Brière] and [president Keith Jones] got to do what’s best for the group in the future,” Laughton, 30, said Wednesday. “But trying to help this team win and make a little push here. There’s a week left and [we’ll] see what happens.”

The trade deadline is next Friday at 3 p.m. The Flyers enter Wednesday five points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card and riding a three-game winning streak. But they are vying with eight teams for one of the two wild-card spots.

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The expectation is that the Flyers will be sellers as they work their way through the rebuild.

“We’re kind of right there. We could make a push to get the same spot last year,” forward Travis Konecny said. “But you’ve just got to remember that we’re still in the process of getting better and, you know, things happen. If something good comes up, I’m sure they’re going to evaluate it and see if it’s the right fit for our team.”

Laughton, a versatile forward, and right-shot defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen are two names that have circulated for months. The former checks in at No. 8 on The Athletic’s trade board, and the latter at No. 4. New Flyer and soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Andrei Kuzmenko is No. 41. Laughton has one year remaining on his contract at a $3 million salary-cap hit while Ristolainen is signed through 2026-27 at $5.1 million.

“You’re always looking to improve your team. We have to improve our team,” coach John Tortorella said. “Danny is listening. He has to listen because we’re in that stage. We have to improve our team. Scottie is loved here, but you can’t fall in love.”

Regarding the 30-year-old Ristolainen, other teams certainly will want him, but so do the Flyers. “If you trade him Friday, then on Saturday, you say, [expletive], I need a big, right-handed defenseman,” Tortorella noted. ”You’re always looking for that big, right-handed defenseman.”

The conversation around the Flyers for the last few seasons has been that they have to get better amid this “New Era of Orange.” But night in and night out, players are suiting up in orange and black and trying to compete with the mentality that the team needs upgrades. It’s a fine line for the bench boss to walk, which is why he has a wide-open-door policy with honest answers at the ready.

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“This is a business,” he said. “This is part of it, and we can’t have soft skin here because you get stuck in the mud. I think this organization has been stuck in the mud for a number of years.

“We have to stay true to what [governor] Dan Hilferty, Jonesy, myself, and Danny have talked about, that we can’t fall in love. If we think we make our team better and keep progressing to be a more competitive team, we’re going to do it, and there’s going to be some casualties.”

Konecny spoke to the media for the first time since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off. The veteran winger won gold with Canada, playing in two of the team’s four games. “Great experience. Anytime you can play for your country, it’s an honor, and glad that we could get the job done there and win the 4 Nations. I think it was taken a lot more seriously than people thought it was going to be [and] I think all the athletes knew it would be that way.” Konecny famously got a lift from Brad Marchand to get his medal, saying the piggyback ride came because “I just said I wasn’t walking that far.” And asked if he followed up on his pre-tournament comment that he would text Tortorella if Canada won, Konecny said: “I didn’t text him, but I’ve probably said something, or at least twice every day I’ve seen him so far.”