2009-10 Rink Wrap: Brooks Laich

Gets a 5 from me.

He slightly outperformed what I expected from him in the regular season, but the playoffs were definitely a let down, bringing him back down.

I gave Brooks a 6, although in retrospect I might have given him a 5. His offensive production and PKing exceeded my expectations, but I found his defensive game to be somewhat disappointing. The same goes for his performance in the playoffs. I’d expect Laich to be the type of player who would kick things up a notch in the postseason, but it didn’t happen.

I wonder if there was any residual from blocking a rebound off the crossbar with his face in practice.

I’m the 10 for Brooks, so let me explain.

For a while now, my feelings on Laich have been: I love his game, I love to watch him, but I don’t think he can sustain this.

His goals have increased each of the last two seasons, despite his shooting percentage continuing to decrease, which is amazing to me. He has nearly doubled his SOG totals in the last two seasons, which is pretty wild for a guy who’s been very healthy for 3 straight years.

Not only that, but he kept his power play duties on a team that added Mike Knuble, who seemingly does everything Brooks does, and does it better (or at least more veteranly)

We’ve seen him step into the leadership role on this team in a big way, even without an A on his chest.

Yes, the playoffs were disappointing on a team level, but I think we’ve seen that statistically the Caps did play the superior game in the series. So it’s hard for me to blame Brooks for having poor rate stats during those 7 games.

My 10 more than anything has been based on the belief that Brooks was like Clark, a player who personifies the game of hockey, but doesn’t have the talent to match the stats he compiled over a short period of time.

Instead, this season has left me convinced that he may very well be as good as his rate stats say he is, and that’s a stupendous accomplishment.

Gave him a 6 for the regular season. I expected him to improve his numbers, but he solidified his standing as a reliable regular perhaps slightly more than I expected. His streakiness prevents me from giving him a 7 here. He avoids a 4 or 5 due to the maturity and leadership factor that he provides for a team that appears to need all it can get in that department.

Gave him a 2 for the playoffs. Would have been a 1, but he did score in Game 7 to give the team a thread of hope.

As has been my practice during this exercise, I weight the two equally, and the average he gets is a 4.

The regular season was a bit inconsistent, but in the end, career highs in goals and assists establish Brooks as a top 6 forward in the NHL. He would have likely been more effective had the Caps had more consistent play from the other folks on the second line. BMo was off and on, and we all know that Semin is consistently inconsistent. If the Caps can find someone else to stabilize that line, along with Brooks, then 30 goals could come in 2010-11

The playoff problems that Brooks had seemed tied to the issues that Semin had, and BMo and several folks not named Ovechkin, Backstrom, etc. I don’t think it was entirely his fault, but at the same time, it’s a team game and everyone on the ice is responsible when the puck goes in the net, just as everyone is rewarded when a goal is scored. He could have been better, but any one player among Green, Semin, Laich, BMo, Flash playing up to their regular season level would have been enough to carry the Caps to round 2.

To get a 10 next year, 30 goals, 30 assists, and +25. Pretty simple. He is coming up on a contract year, and he will be looking to collect. The way to collect is to have a big year… I think he will.

Before the season started I said Brooks Laich would have a 30 goal 30 assist season and that he’d finish on the on the plus side of +\- for the first time.

So he basically did exactly what I expected.

He would have gotten a higher rating if he had a better playoffs. I was expecting him and Knuble to destroy Halak’s comfort and they didn’t.
Bonus points for scoring a goal in game 7 which made me think for about a minute the Caps would come back.

There isn’t much to dislike about Laich, and there isn’t much to go ga ga over either. He was about the player I thought he’d be. I think his stretches of nothingness had something to do with him being moved to C, which isn’t his fault. Laich is a W. The playoffs weren’t great, you’d like to see him dominate a shift or two which he never did. Knuble surpassed him this past year in lockerroom spokesmen IMO.

To get a 10, he needs to turn into Ryan Kesler.

I’m hoping Laich hits the 30 goal mark. He’s definitely capable of doing so and it seems he’s put himself in a good position to get more 1st unit PP time next season.

I hope he doesn’t go on any long scoreless stretches again. Just peppering points a little more consistently would be good to see.
I have no idea what his position will end up being. It seems that one of the most valuable parts about Laich is his ability to be thrown into any role and preform.
He’ll spend a lot of time going from the 3rd to 2nd line again while Bruce plays super line shuffle every other game.

Solid player 6 for his play + 1 for being a first-class guy and if he inproves, a possible captain if ovi wants out. He’s as good a player and person as was Chris Clark.
His playoff performance probably was in part due to catching a puck with his face at Kettler.

Did people not think he had any game coming into this season? Based on the consistent Brooks love here I can’t see that. FFS he was an 8.38 then a 7.88 last year so people saw lots to like.

Did people not see the long stretches of nothing this year, and that he was an even +/- until halfway through the year?
http://peerlessprognosticator.blogspot.com/2010/05/2009-2010-season-by-tens-wingers-brooks.html

Did people not read the criteria again? Maybe we can make it greener …

I gave him a 6, and that’s without docking him points for the playoffs. I love the intangibles and expected them. Liked the improved production but the stats weren’t that great considering his teammates.

I’m curious to see what Bruce does with Brooks next season. I think it could be useful to give him some time on the first line if just to get Knuble some more time to rest. Plus, it will allow GMGM and Bruce to see if he’s a viable permanent replacement for Knuble after next season.

This is the first time I’ve voted below the average, and I gotta say I’m shocked. Brooks had a good season, but it was pretty much exactly what I expected of him. He got an extra point for continuing to step up his off-ice game, but a minus point for that long dry spell of his. For playoffs, he got a minus point for being somewhat invisible most of the time, but an extra point for his Game 7 goal (and his tire-changing abilities). So in my book, all of his exceeds expectation activities got canceled out by the below expectation activities. Goals were about what I’d expect…but I want more next year.

Performed as expected, plus my only smile the day after the game seven loss.

How are 2 goals in 7 games a playoff disappointment? That works out to a 23 goal season, which is about average for his last three years. I also don’t get calling him ‘inconsistent’. A 20-goal scorer is always going to score in bunches. (Google “Poisson distribution” plus hockey.)

It wasn’t the goal distribution so much that I found inconsistent. It was more that he wasn’t a great player for long stretches of the early to mid-season. The best thing I can point to is/was plus-minus which hovered around zero until past the halfway point of the season. That and I remember a few quotes from him mid-season where he seemed to call himself out, like he was pressing and not playing a good game. I think people might be overrating him because they remember the fast start he got off to, largely thanks to the PP, and his top line stats looked decent all year thanks to that.

Slightly outperformed expectations. Easy 6.

Exceeded expectations from me on the offensive side and was going to rank him higher until I saw the defensive numbers. My perception was that he is a very solid two way player….now it doesn’t seem that way. I think with a heart and soul kind of guy like Laich, you have to rely on him for really solid two way play, so to rank him higher next year, I would like to see a marked improvement defensively.

I would love to hear people say about Laich, “He’s the Ryan Kessler of the East., but changes a tire faster.”

Pretty much what I expected. Would have liked to see some more improvement on D and he needs to evolve his PP game. I absolutely hate seeing him stand at the side of the net, call for the puck, and then try to just stuff it on the goalie. He’s got to know he’s not the shooter on that PP. Get in front, cause havoc, and smack home rebounds. We’ve got enough cutesy play on the PP without him thinking he needs to add some.

46% 8 and above. Votes for Brooks’ face before puck got there.

in my book, HH21 truely established himself as a core cap this year. he did everything you want to see a cap do, on and off the ice. how often have we bemoaned the fact that we need a guy to get dirty and score from the high traffic, dirty red light district in front of the net? ok, well i have thought that often. brooks really excelled in that area. not only excelled through scoring, but by providing on of the best quotes of the year and clearly one of a select few statements equating baking and hockey.

in 10 years, can anyone else see brooks becoming a bill guerin, mike knuble, mark recci type player who gets passed around at the trade deadline to provide leadership teams looking for player to help them in the playoffs? lets hope he earns that rep buy winning a few cups here before hand.

like all caps not named carlson and backstrom, he loses points from me for not getting the team past the first round (or two) in the playoffs. he gets a 7 from me.

i expect a steady improvement from HH21, and by improvement i dont mean he will jump off the memorial bridge to save a bunch of drowning orphans clutching fuzzy puppies just hours after scoring the game winning goal in OT to win the cup. although that would be ok with me. of course, he needs to bring it in the playoffs to earn higher marks.

i also expect him to get locked up to a 4-5 year deal before the trade deadline…

Another bricks and mortar piece. What kind of discount can George wring out of this guy? 4yr/11M? I think he can punch out a 30G season with a little more consistency, and you simply can’t have enough candy for the ladies.

for a 10, I want more consistency more net traffic, and continued PP contribution

point production and goal production were ever so slightly above expectations, proably warrant a 6 for that. But for the leadership / net presence / steadying influence on an often erratic #2 line, I bumped him to a strong 7. Slight downgrade for the playoffs, though I give him the benefit of the doubt that his broken face was a factor there.

The Discussion: Heading into a contract year, do you expect more of a steady upward progression, a dramatic leap or more of the same from Laich? Considering the continued gap at center and Laich’s ability to play with multiple linemates, what do you see his role being next year?

His production next year depends a lot on his teammates. If the caps get a bona-fide #2 center, I envision his numbers jumping up to 30+ g and near 70 pts. If they stick with one of the in house candidates at that #2 pivot (Laich, flash, belanger, mp, etc) he will probably see a bit of a regression from last year (or at least hold steady around 55-60 pts). I think he’s a 2nd line guy all the way, question is if they put him at C or W there.

He is what I thought he’d be… and what I expect him to be next year and for the next 5 years. I’m not expecting significant improvement at this point, so if the Caps can lock up a tough, solid, versatile team player like Laich for 4-5 seasons at or around his current hit, I’m down with that.

-d

Pretty much got what I expected from him: slight increase in consistency going to the net and a small increase in points. I’d like to see his D improve though. His playoffs are what kept him from getting a 6 (and almost got him a 4). He’s supposed to be exactly the kind of guy who flourishes in the playoffs and a provide scoring depth. But he didn’t provide enough of the dirty and gritty offense that the Caps needed to beat a hot goalie and he was a major player on a horrendous PP.

You guys are tough critics, are you going to rate AO and Sasha 2s?

Lets see, last season he did well for a 2nd line player, net prescenece was only okay but had season setting numbers. I expected similiar. He increased all aspects of his game. Sure he had a drought during the season but still set career highs in goals, assists and points. Sure he could of done more without that drought but that just leaves my expectations higher for this coming season.

He did well on the PK and defensively didn’t ever seem too shabby. Sure his GOAN/60 was a bit high but also consider he spent a lot of time with Semin, and Flash. So who was carrying the defensive weight there? But defensively he only met my expectations.

Special teams I thought he improved, less ppg but overall was part of a more effective power play unit.

Still I disregard playoffs because….everyone sucked. If things were different I’d be fine with calling out individual efforts but I didn’t ever see a team come to play playoff hockey so holding people to individual standards during that time when only 4-6 players did what they should weighs too heavily for me on what the team accomplished on the season . But with so many players letting down fans its hard to not hold it against either.

You can guess who I’ll be hard on, because they will be the ones completely deserving of it but as for now I’ll play fanboy for the guys that played hard all season.

His a plumber gutsy player, yet he’s not Knuble , I’d love to see #21 step up and get more ugli goals, yet that’s been the thought on #21 since the Philly series .

I think laich played to the best of his abilities and during a stellar team year, he produced beyond his skill set. I think he’s a #6 guy in the forward rank, at his peak, and expect less from him in the regular season next year as the whole team will be a little deflated after the playoff humility they were awarded. I do expect a better playoff performance, however, and think getting banged in the face did more damage than what was reported. I also think that as Semins frustrations grew, he ceased using his linemates and Laich suffered as a result. I also don’t think the chemistry with Semin is strong enough without a true 2nd line center.
Laich has his work cut out for him next year. he has to prove he has a place on the team in the top 6 because he’ll make a little too much for 3rd line duties with a strong cast in Hershey ready to move up and earn less.