Laich Heads To Arbitration

The dog days are officially upon us, friends, but luckily only in a "there's not a whole hell of a lot of hockey news" way and not in a Michael Vick sorta way.

There is some news, however, regarding one of the Caps' remaining restricted free agents. Barring a last minute deal, the Caps and forward Brooks Laich will be before an arbitrator today, presenting their respective cases for what the Saskatchewan native's 2007-08 salary should be.

Frankly, I'm not sure what Laich (who came to Washington in exchange for Peter Bondra back in the Spring of '04) hopes to achieve in arbitration. Sure, his goal total increased 14% this past season over 2005-06... but that bump took him from seven to eight - not exactly a breakout season. And he did prove his versatility while improving both his plus/minus and his fauxhawk. But with less-than-gaudy numbers on a team with far more options than spots on the bottom two lines and with Brian Sutherby (who has a 14-goal season under his belt and wore an "A" last season) signing for $800,000 just last week, how much can Laich really be asking for?

Previously: Jurcina, Laich Elect Arbitration

Update: The Forechecker has a good preview of what the hearing might be like.

Update: If I'm Laich, maybe I walk in with this video teed up to #6...