Brooks Laich

'07-08 Stats                      Age (on October 1): 25                  Contract: RFA

'07-08 Season Report

Laich established himself as the only scoring threat among the Capitals checking line guys. His 21 goals nearly tripled his previous career high while his 17.2% shooting percentage was tops on the team, as were his modest 2 shorthanded goals.

Brooks also showed some prowess on the power play as he tied with Mike Green for 3rd on the team with 8 extra man markers. If Chris Clark can come back healthy, the Capitals would be in excellent shape with goal scoring help for Laich and the third line. But as it stands, Matt Bradley's 7 goals were second best among non-skilled forwards, not quite the tertiary scoring the Capitals would like to see. 

Intangibles

Laich is definitely one of the guys. As we've seen on Comcast SportsNet throughout the season, he has closely befriended Mike Green and appears to have learned some of his moves along the way. With a bit more work, if he can become as elusive as Green, he'll be fun to watch for a number of years. When I think of Laich, another ex-Cap quickly comes to mind: Mike Ridley. If that doesn't excite Cap fans, I don't know what will.

Future Fit

Laich is restricted and due for a significant raise. The Capitals will certainly extend a qualifying offer to him, but with Green, Cristobal Huet, and Sergei Fedorov higher priorities going into the signing period, Laich may remain unsigned and able to receive offers from others. Unless any ridiculous offers are made, the Capitals would be ill-advised not to match.

After seeing Laich's breathrough season, it can be expected that he can reach the offensive level Clark achieved a year ago. If he does, that Peter Bondra deal of a couple years ago will be one of the biggest steals by GMGM in his tenure.