2008-09 Rink Wrap: Brooks Laich
by J.P. on Jun 8, 2009 7:00 AM EDT
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PrintFrom Alzner to Varlamov, we're taking a look at and grading the 2008-09 season for every player who laced 'em up for the Caps for a significant number of games during the campaign, with an eye towards 2009-10. Next up, Brooks Laich.
Brooks Laich
#21 / Left Wing/Center / Washington Capitals
6-2
210
Jun 23, 1983
5
UFA; $2,066,666.67 cap hit in 2009-10; UFA after 2010-11 season
8.38 rating
Key Stats: For the fourth straight season, Laich improved his goal totals (while bettering his point total for the third consecutive campaign), and he's played in every one of the Caps' 206 games (regular season and playoffs) since February 21, 2007.
Interesting Stat: Laich has never finished an NHL season with a plus rating.
The Good: For a $2 million third-liner, Brooks Laich is one heck of a valuable player, in large part because of his versatility. He was one of two Caps to be in the top five forwards in power play and penalty killing ice time per game (Alex Semin was the other), skated shifts with just about every other forward on the team and at all three forward positions (not to mention the few shifts he skated on the blueline), and took the most shifts per game of any forward on the team. He won 51.1% of the 511 faceoffs he took, cut down his penalty minutes, drew 4.6 times as many penalties at five-on-five as he took (further evidence of the importance of going to the net), and averaged a well-disciplined 49 seconds per shift. Laich was fourth among the team's forwards in hits and blocked shots (recall his epic, stickless three-on-five shift in Los Angeles), and had a plus-four rating from January 17 through the end of the regular season.
Impressive contributions all, and we haven't even gotten to Laich's offense, so let's go there. He was fifth on the team (behind the Young Guns) in points per game, and fourth in goals, power play goals and shots on goal, and he did it all from in close - only Chris Clark had a shorter average shot length at five-on-five. Laich increased his shots on goal by more than 50% (allowing him to blow past the 20-goal plateau, despite a more realistic shooting percentage), and nearly doubled his assist total from the season before.
Simply put, some people think that players like Laich are a dime a dozen. They're not. If they were, teams would have twenty-cent payrolls... and win a lot of games.
The Bad: Laich struggled a bit out of the gate, scoring just five goals in his first 29 games (a 14-goal pace), then following up a modest hot streak (six goals in nine games) with a goal-less January. In the post-season, he had just one goal in a dozen games prior to scoring in each of the final two games against Pittsburgh (though his play overall, especially with Matt Bradley and David Steckel, was inspired). Also bad? The headshot above.
The Vote: Rate Laich below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season - if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.
The Discussion: What would you like to see Laich improve on in 2009-10? What role suits him best? What will it take for him to earn a 10 rating next year?
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I LOVE LAICH.
Seriously, what a guy, teammate, ladies man, and overall awesome player.
I gave Laich an eight. He basically did what I hoped he would do this season though. I just wanted him to pass his 07-08 goal total. He sure got a lot more helpers this season though which is what excelled him up to an eight for me. I think he can easily be even better next season.
I want to see Laich score a bit more consistently this coming season and get a Captains C (or just continue his great leadership and awesome quote giving to the press.)
I think he could have 60 points in 09-10.
Pretty much agreed with everything here. Would actually like to see him used less on the PK. As the only forward we have that consistantly goes to the net, it seemed like by the end of the year the word was that always dinged up. He was skipping all the optional practices and at times the go to the net thing seemed to be absent. Perhaps without time and energy/pain spent on the PK he might be a little more consistant on offense and be in better shape for the post season.
by HateOffSeason on Jun 8, 2009 9:23 AM EDT up reply actions
I was ready to complain about 21’s 5-on-5 defense, but he was a fairly average Cap in GAON/60. (The worst regular Cap forwards in that category: Kozzy, AO, Flash.)
I expected to find the same and didn’t.
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For all those mealy-brained types who think that their AHL faves are ready for NHL duty RIGHT NOW, check out who tops the GAON/60 list: Beagle, Osala, Kronwall. Rookies are rookies for a reason. (And in an unrelated story: Tom Poti being ‘ahead of’ Karl Alzner in that stat is jaw-dropping.)
Aside to TEB: Yes, I’m stunned by where A. Giroux is on this list too. But it still doesn’t mean he deserves a one-way deal!
anyone notice on this link that Tyler Sloan’s numbers almost mirror ShaMo? good news for next year on the budget and performance side.
Promote the game, it's the NHL, not SCHL
Yup, I noticed that. Tyler Sloan’s numbers are for the most part comparable to ShaMo’s for less than half the cap hit. Of course, I like Kronwall, too.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
still pulling for Kronwall next year also. I don’t think GMGM let’s him get away. How did he play in person, you were up at a game this weekend right?
Promote the game, it's the NHL, not SCHL
Little harsh, don’t you think?
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
as a callup on occasion, maybe.
as a regular taking the place of Morrisonn?
Please no.
While I do think Morrisonn isn’t the best player ever, nor playing up to his potential, people are crazy to want Sloan to play over him.
I agree on this one. Watching Sloan last night in Hershey, he was having problems getting the puck out of his end against AHL players. I can’t imagine what he’d do against the likes of Malkin, Staal and Kovalchuk on a nightly basis. On the other hand Carlson is a beast, an absolute beast. I was blown away by how composed he looked in really stressful situations. In fact, I thought he looked better than Alzner last night, although Karl was probably still getting his playing legs back after being out for so long. I wouldn’t be surprised to see both of them with teh Caps next year.
Which is pretty damn solid, considering the style they play. The result? The 8th-best 5-on-5 GF/GA ratio in the League.
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My God. The Caps are a pretty good team when all is said and done. Who knew?
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
by gotsparkly on Jun 8, 2009 8:53 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Heh. Looking at a lot of the message boards is Capsland, you’d think we were the Tampa Bay Lightning. Let’s get rid of everyone except Ovi and Backstrom, fire Boudreau, fire McPhee, and start over. ;) You’d think we didn’t even make the playoffs.
Japers’ is of course the exception, but even here sometimes people get excited.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
gave him a 6
with a little lean toward 7. he did what he needed to do but didn’t and didn’t do anything out of character.
considering i had high expectations for Laich a 6/7 is pretty good in my book.
out of character – lead a line instead of compliment it. score more consistently.
he did what was there to do. not going to give a guy an 8/9 if he does what is expected of him. and to be clear, what was expected of him was a lot and an important part of this team. i see him as part of the teams “core”.
by ns on Jun 8, 2009 10:05 AM EDT up reply actions
I expected 16 goals. I got nearly 50% more. I also got a lot more in the faceoff dept. than I’d have thought, a big increase in assists, fewer penalties, more drawn, and 43% more handsomeness than anticipated. He got an 8 from me.
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by J.P. on Jun 8, 2009 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
He was also a 37% better quote than expected. He went from being a good quote to being a go-to quote.
by TylerG on Jun 8, 2009 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
When the Caps made the (inevitable) Bondra move at the ’04 deadline and received what I called dust at the time, I was furious. (Laich? who the hell is Layk? Laysh? Lysh? wait, what?) As Bonzai was my favorite Cap for the preceding, oh, 10 years, it took me a full year to even want to say his name right.
Man, what a great deal that turned out to be for the good guys.
Brooks is everything an NHL GM could want in a player as far as attitude goes: the hustle, the team-first mentality, and some pretty hardnosed play in both zones. While he’ll never have a first line scoring touch, he could easily get 30 goals just playing gritty hockey with a more, ah, fresh-legged center. A 10 next year: 60 points and a +10.
This is as close to a must-sign as George has this off-season. Get it done.
from the house that Red Jesus built
He’s already signed — and through 2010-11
by TylerG on Jun 8, 2009 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Where to from here
Brooks got an 8 from me because I really did expect a bit of a fallback and he exceeded my expectations on a lot of levels. Now, management has to figure out where he plays going forward. He fit in very nicely on the third line with Stecks and Bradley, but his natural position is center and he’s been openly campaigning to get a shot on the second line. So the question is is Laich a solid 20 goal scorer or with more skilled linemates and time on the PP can he get to the 30 goal level? In other words, in the Caps search for a second-line center could Brooks be a possible answer?
I disagree. He may be able to take faceoffs, but he is no natural center. First up: He’s not a good passer. Even a bad one. And his ice-vision is, uh, non-existent. He’s a corners-and-go-to-the-net guy.
I agree he shouldn’t be at 2nd line center but I don’t see how you could say he’s “not a good passer. Even a bad one.”
Easy: Because he’s not a good passer.
Would you rather have Laich as a distributor or would you rather have him forechecking, digging the puck out of corners and hanging out in front of the net scoring 20-25 goals and providing a screen enabling others? (The Caps don’t have a lot of players who can do the latter…)
whats wrong with both? during the rush he takes the center and dishes to the wings. when they are firmly in the zone he plants himself in front of the keeper and scores the goals that we all love to see…
in terms of passing, he did have 30 assists, 15 of those on the PP. obviously that doesnt mean that hes a good passer, especially with the secondary assists. but it counts for something; you cant just flat out say hes not a good passer.
That’s not the way the Caps’ offense/system is designed.
And to clarify what Tyler’s saying (if I may), Laich is simply not a good playmaking pivot. He doesn’t have the vision or the touch of a Backstrom/Feds/Nyls (save the snark). He is a finisher, not a starter.
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but he is no natural center. First up: He’s not a good passer. Even a bad one. And his ice-vision is, uh, non-existent.
For starters, center is his natural position. It’s the position he played all through juniors, it’s the position he was drafted in by Ottawa, the postion he played in the AHL for Binghamton, Portland and Hershey. Is he a great passer? No, but to say he’s not even a “bad passer” with no ice-vision is absurd. And as far as Laich not having the touch of Feds and Nyls, Brooks had more assists last season than both of them. Again, I’m not saying that Laich is my first or second choice to play center on the second line, just that he’s an option.
bad examples. Fedorov and Nylander both played less games than Laich (as was the case for nearly everyone on this injury-plagued team, unfortunately). While projecting an 82 game production based on a partial season is never fool-proof, I have Fedorov at 34 or 35 assists had that wretched ankle injury never happened.
I’m not touching Nylander, though, and trying to project stats, because I think there’s way too much going on there besides “didn’t play 82 games.”
All that said, I really liked Laich playing to Steckel’s wing during the playoffs, and from a purely selfish fan point of view, I’d like to see that stay intact because they’re enjoyable to watch together.
bad examples. Fedorov and Nylander both played less games than Laich
Those were jp’s examples, not mine. I was just pointing out the fact that Brooks with his utter lack of passing ability had more assists as a winger than those two did as centers.
At 5-on-5, Nylander and Feds both had more primary assists per 60 than Laich. So did Kozlov. So did Semin, Backstrom, Fleischmann and Ovechkin. And Green. And Sami Lepisto.
Aucoin, Backstrom, Fehr, Nylander, Sloan, Ovechkin, Steckel, Green, Morrisonn and Gordon all had more secondary assists per 60 5-on-5.
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Most of those listed as having more primary assists don’t surprise me, since they’re the first and second line guys that produce that majority of the Capitals’ scoring. But Sami Lepisto? Seriously? (I know, its undoubtedly a bit of a fluke based on his limited playing time)
Its the secondary assist guys that really surprise me. Sloan? Steckel? Morrison? Boyd Gordon?!?!
You lost me at Lepisto. So Laich isn’t as gifted offensively as Nylander, Feds, Kozlov, Semin, Backstrom, Ovechkin or Flash. Who finds that surprising? Sure, the center position is about skill, but it’s also about hard work, grit, determination and the willingness to go into the dirty places and take a hit to get the puck. Does that sound like the attributes Laich possesses? Stats are a helpful tool in assessing a player’s ability, but they don’t measure a players drive and determination. They don’t tell you how many times a player puts a puck on a third-liner’s stick only to have him miss a shot that a first liner would have buried. Sometime what we actually see on the ice is a far better indicator of a player’s ability than numbers on a stat sheet.
Sometime what we actually see on the ice is a far better indicator of a player’s ability than numbers on a stat sheet.
I agree completely, and what I’ve seen on the ice leads me to believe that Brooks Laich would be a bad fit as a scoring line center.
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so where does he go, to the wing?
you also have to take into consideration the defensive skills of a forward. would you trust brooksie to be the 2nd d-man when green cheats up and cant get back into position?
who is really?
we’re talking probably one of the greatest Russian players and greatest centers in the game ever, a young Swede who at 21 has otherworldly gifts and might at this point his career already be in the top 4-5 of Centers in the game, and then Nylander who has been no slacker in his own right over his long career.
I’m not knocking that Laich isn’t a good passer, he isn’t. But we’re not exactly comparing him to Jiri Novitny and company.
Sorry, I didn’t know that the word passing = play maker.
by zephyr on Jun 8, 2009 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
One thing to consider is that if he’s at 2C, Semin may be shouldering the playmaking load on that line regardless of who’s down the middle. It just seems like 28 has the puck a LOT whenever I watch and that’s not a bad thing, given his handle and vision.
Having a center that can go to the net and go into the corners to get Sasha the puck may be more important than having an excellent playmaker, I can only see good things happening with a screen in front of the goalie and Semin’s wrister.
by Knee high to a duck on Jun 8, 2009 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Clarification, by he I mean Laich.
by Knee high to a duck on Jun 8, 2009 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I’ve thought Drury was decent for a while playing center and looking to shoot before scoring. Sure, he’s not worth his contract, but, centers don’t always have to think pass first.
I think passing is something he isn’t asked to do as much. I think the team rather have him play down low, bang and shoot when the option comes. I think he’s better at that part, but I don’t particularly think he can’t do the passing thing. I just think he’s better suited to play on the wing when it comes down to it.
But I like Laich playing in the #2 center spot better than I like some of the other options that are out there.
Easily my favorite on the team right now – there’s two players who deserve a 10 to me, and that’s Laich & Ovechkin.
Any flaws on ice this man has are made up by his leadership. None of us know what goes on inside the locker room – but Laich comes off as the leader to the press.
Yeah, 10 is a bit of a favoritism grade, but everyone doubted he would match last season. He proved them wrong.
in my opinion, the guy should have a letter.
But then again, I’m not in the lockerroom or the coach.
Well, rumor has it an “A” might be coming open, doesn’t it?
I’m probably over-rating on this one, but I gave him a nine. Anyone who can have a “Chuck Norris” thread on the Caps’ message board in his honor is worth it. But really, a year equal to last year might have been worth more than a five, because I thought last year was better than could have been expected. He’s not getting a ten — he’d have to have an Ovechkin-like season for that. OK, maybe a Backstrom-like season.
I gave him an 8. I hesitated a little and thought about a 7, but strong efforts like the stick-less one-footed, 3 blocked shots clear on a 5-3 PK vs LA, he got the extra .5 point. He always seems to come up big in those moments – defensively at least. An 8 is a little high, but he not only did what was expected of him, really excelled at it.
To get a 10, he’d need 30 goals and a + rating while maintaining his current strengths.
I’d like to see 21 get a good look at replacing Koslov on the first line and bumping Flash off the power play . If Chris Clark netted 30 a few years ago, seems like Laich could have similar or even greater success. Does most of corner work that Koslov did on that line but will do it better, grittier. He controls the puck well, has great chemistry with Backstrom (most do), and can clean up lots garbage around the goal as well as creating traffic in front of the net for Ovie.
I also love watching Laich out at Kettler. He brings so much energy and enthusiasm to every practice I’ve seen. He’s always chatting it up with other players, playing hard, leading. He gets pissed when he doesnt score in drills. I think the C would be in the right place on his jersey.
Laich averaged more PP time per game than Flash did this past season, fwiw (which actually surprised me). But I agree, of course, with the underlying sentiment that he’s what a PP needs and Flash is what a press box needs.
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by J.P. on Jun 8, 2009 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Maybe it was just a bad dream, but it sure looked/felt like Flash got more PP time in the Playoffs than Laich.
Yep, just a bad dream – Laich got 23.2% more PP time than Flash in the playoffs.
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I love having Laich on the team, but he didn’t really do anything that I wasn’t expecting this year. Solid offensive player, great quotes, Average defense, shoved on checking lines (His real kind of “place, in my opinion” and a good season. So I gave him a 6. To earn a ten, I want 30 goals, a +20 (luuuuulz) and less than 30 PIMs.
I'm so sick and tired of the refs explaining the calls like this is the NFL.
Clearly one of, if not the, best bang for the buck on the Caps Roster! You go Brooks, love the way he crashes the net – he has grit and when needed a soft touch for the net!
by markbona-capsfan99 on Jun 8, 2009 9:34 PM EDT reply actions
An 8...
I thought the 20 goal season in 2007-08 was a fluke, but now, it’s clearly not. He’s established himself as a 20 goal guy despite very limited time playing with Ovie…
To get to 10, maybe 25 goals, and maybe do more of the “Tomas Holmstrom” thing getting in front of goalies on the power play.
Let's go Caps!
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