2009-10 Rink Wrap: Quintin Laing

For heart. Send him back to the AHL though.

Work is boring, so when I glanced at the clock and saw 10:58 I decided I would read this right at 11.

I gave him a 3. The bad PK numbers did him in for me. Also, whether or not he has the capability, I want more offense from anyone fit enough to make the NHL roster. So in my mind, he is not worth a roster spot next year (except as insurance or a situational call-up).

A 10 for next year would be playing a vast majority of games with 10+ minutes of ice time, scoring a half dozen goals, and being a leader on the PK.

Two words: Thank you.

That’s Q.

Hurts me to do this, but 3.

Basically what I expected was better penalty killing and more blocked shots. IIRC last season he had more than a blocked shot per game and finished in the top-10 in the league, or was that 2007-2008? Two blocks on Malkin on a PIT 5-on-3 in OT in Jan 2008 stand out to me especially.

And since he hasn’t got much more than that, I took out a hefty chunk from his score.

I absolutely love the guy, and would have him on my team any day, but he’s just not an NHL forward.

Life isn’t fair. You put a teaspoon of this guy’s heart and grit on more than a few other Caps, and the Caps are skating around Verizon Center with a silver cup later this spring. But the things he does are a narrow slice of what he has to do to keep a job at this level on a contending team. Do you keep him over a Boyd Gordon? An Andrew Gordon, for that matter (who is an RFA himself)? That’s a hard sell to make.

I knew the guy couldn’t skate very well, so I didn’t expect much on that front. I also knew that his style of play exposed him to a lot of injuries – you block that many pieces of rubber flying that quickly and the injuries are going to accumulate and the player is going to miss games (Kind of like a particular Russian D some are lusting after).

However, I also expected Q to PK better than he did, based on what it looked like his role was going into the season. He was an outright disaster in that role, at least partially because he can’t skate at an acceptable NHL level. Heart only takes you so far and while Q gets full marks for that (and a bonus to compensate for a spleen), I was expecting more. Two steps faster on his skates and he’s a career NHL grinder with a steady job. Sadly, he doesn’t have those two steps.

Did what I expected, but it looked like teams figured out that Q’s shot blocking was the only thing he had, too many times a D would fake a shot, get Q to commit and then waltz in and get a clear shot on goal.

100% of Laing’s career goals have been game-winners or have come in the third period with the game tied. Can’t teach that kind of clutch. Ninth most valuable Cap.

That said, he gets a 4 from me, largely because of the PKing and no real corresponding positive to fully offset the disaster he was there.

Gave him a 6. He was pretty much what I expected with perhaps even a teensy bit more heart this year than any other, even with the drop in blocked shots. Plus, you can’t argue with those goals.

The fact that he stuck 36 games with the big club blew away my expectations for him. Laing is not an NHL-caliber player, but I love the fact that some of our softer players have to look down the bench and ask themselves: “Why the hell does he have a jersey? Oh, because he blocks shots with his face and has bigger balls than I could ever wish to have.”

Actually staying up with the team all year was surprising, but then the PKing brought him crashing back down below expections.

I don’t think he should be the caps “spare part” next year, that role should go to younger players. So, no role for him here next season.

Irrespective of the QL Fanclub (and cap effects), rotate a parade of forwards out of Hershey for the same heart/desire out of said given player on a given night, while seeing better offensive results.

Abstaining on vote.

I don’t expect him to play in the NHL.

i’m sure i’m not the only one for a soft spot for guys like Q. and i’m sure what he brings to the club is measured more by what happens at ketter vs. VC.

i was a bit surprised to see his pk stats were as poor as they were, and also surprised to see how little pk time he actually got, averaging about 1 1/2 min per game. i suppose there is some correlation there. oddly enough, in an early season game against nashville, he had over 5 of the 8 minutes of total pk time, with no goals against. all downhill from there i suppose.

he gets a slightly below average from me given the pk stats. he is was i thought he would be except for that. would love to see him stick around next year, but clearly he would be a spare part. i’m assuming he could be resigned for close to the $500K he made last year. if that was the case, at least he would be cheaper than most of the young guys who could come up and take his place.

Meh.

I can’t get past the notion that guys like Brooks Laich and Matt Bradley were so effusive in their praise of Laing after he took a haymaker in the jaw. That kind of example has to be an intangible plus in the locker room. On numbers alone, he probably gets a 3. His skill set just isn’t going to elevate him above the margins of being an NHL player. But he is a player who is more than his numbers.

I expected very little of him and he still disappointed me.

Low goal total, low assists total, not much in terms of minutes, a weird injury, willing to work his butt off to get what ice he can get, accepts his situation as a professional, stands up for teammates, good in the community.

Exactly what I expected, hence a 5.

To get a 10, score twice in the next season to break a tie in the 3rd and have at least one of the goals be game winners. That he broke 2 ties in the 3rd is nice, but the Caps couldn’t hold the opponent of the scoreboard afterwards isn’t good.

Also let’s hope for a season without some weird injury or [Gretzky]-ing Swine Flu, or something like that.

Is there a spot for him on the Caps in 2010-11. Part of me wishes there were, because you know the guy is busting a gut (literally in some cases) to do whatever he can to help the team, but at the same time, I am hoping there are 14-15 forwards in the organization who are better than Laing, in which case he would be best served to play somewhere else…

to paraphrase Dennis Green

He is who we thought he was.

Didn’t really expect too much, but the horrible PK numbers should be better. I expected him to play a little more than he did (not necessarily his fault). Lots of heart, as always.

As expected, minus 1 for not having a standing ovation moment (as against colorado 2 seasons ago), plus one for blocking a shot with his face. Like everyone else I love his work ethic and attitude, but don’t see a role for him next year.

but only because there is no zero.

He is what he is, and thats not all bad. He doesn’t make many mistakes out there, so he has that going in his favor, along with the warrior attitude and dedication to putting his body on the line.