Donald Brashear

'07-08 Stats                      Age (on October 1): 36                  Contract: UFA after '09

'07-08 Season Report

Brashear is the Capitals only true enforcer, but that's OK. He's one of the best in league history. As the season wore on, his presence was felt far beyond the pain inflicted on the jaws of opposing players.

He became one of the vocal leaders and was rewarded with a contract extension as such. He did show a lapse in judgement by amassing a relatively unheard of triple minor late in a critical loss to the Boston Bruins. Since that game, however, he was whistled for only 4 minutes in penalties in his last 19 games. Most notably, he was not in a single fight.

At just 7:51 per game, Brashear had the least average ice time of any player to suit up in the red, white, and blue. But his voice on the bench and in the locker room transcended what he did on the ice.

Intangibles

Again this is Brashear's bread and butter. Gretzky had Semenko, Yzerman had Probert, Bossy had Gillies, Esposito had O'Reilly, Ovechkin has Brashear.

Future Fit

Brashear was smartly signed for next season. He will play the exact same role he played last season, and each of the 12 seasons before, and will do it with near perfection. He is not getting any younger, but his play actually improved a bit as the season wore on so it seems unlikely that he will experience a significant drop in performance next season.