Laich, a native of tiny Wawota, Sask., pop. 591, grew up a Maple Leaf fan with a Doug Gilmour No....

Laich, a native of tiny Wawota, Sask., pop. 591, grew up a Maple Leaf fan with a Doug Gilmour No. 93 jersey, and even religiously used Gilmour’s stick pattern growing up. His grandfather once ventured east with buddy Bert Olmstead to try and make the Leafs, so there’s an emotional connection to the Toronto franchise and all the Canadian teams.

Another Spring is going to pass without the Stanley Cup returning to Canada. I could not care less unless it's Toronto but Damien Cox has a theory on the reasons behind the drought. He speaks to Brooks Laich who incidentally will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

about 2 years ago PPP 24 comments 0 recs |

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The link to Laichs contract

Says his deal end in 2011. Either someone effed up or I drive a DeLorean.

by Johnny Bower's Pokecheck on Apr 21, 2010 2:33 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

ugh

Fuck. Fixed.

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by PPP on Apr 21, 2010 2:38 AM EDT up reply actions

He puts up great numbers, but if he does it again next season methinks he’s in for a raise in 2011.

I wish I could me some Eric Fehr at 700k. He’ll be getting a nice raise as well this season though

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by nhlcheapshot on Apr 21, 2010 7:18 AM EDT reply actions

I think all Caps not named “Ovechkin” need to have a bit of a discount imputed into their numbers. It’s like playing for the Phoenix Suns.

I think we should not be trying to sign Brooks Laich (who I think will get some kind of $4MM+ deal based on his inflated numbers), but to develop guys like Brooks Laich who perform really well for $2MM or less. This guy was utterly unimpressive in the AHL, had a couple middling NHL seasons and then started to break out in his age 24-25 seasons. The motto: patience.

One example: some people already sound disappointed in Luca Caputi. Luca Caputi had a better age 19 season in the OHL than Kadri did. He had better AHL numbers than Brooks Laich ever did.

by The '67 Sound on Apr 21, 2010 9:40 AM EDT reply actions

PATIENCE!!!1

I have nothing interesting to say.

by blurr1974 on Apr 21, 2010 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions

Good point. Oh Luca, you better pan out.

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by PPP on Apr 21, 2010 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions

how old is he again?

"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky

by Karina on Apr 21, 2010 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions

21/22

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by PPP on Apr 21, 2010 12:01 PM EDT up reply actions

you think Ottawa would like a do-over on trading Laich to DC?

on Laich’s AHL years, he spent a couple short stints in Hershey after the Caps moved their affiliate there, including playoffs. 31 games total, 28 points. I’ll give you one guess as to who the coach in Hershey was that season.

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by RedBirdie on Apr 21, 2010 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Look, I’m not ripping on Laich, he was a great pick-up and has been a great player at a great price. I’d love to have had him the last 3 years. Just saying his first two years in the AHL were 66 games, 37 pts and 68 games, 26 points. That to me is “utterly unimpressive”. The year you’re referring to he was with the Caps most of the year and went down for a dominant AHL playoff run as a 24 yr old after the Caps were eliminated.

So the message is not anti-Laich; it’s pro-patience.

by The '67 Sound on Apr 21, 2010 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions

yep, utterly unimpressive, no argument. And he was pretty damn unimpressive in his early NHL years. Patience has been rewarded, but Bruce Boudreau sure as hell know how to get the most out of Brooks Laich. (Brooks is also the hardest working guy on the team, without a doubt.)

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by RedBirdie on Apr 21, 2010 10:18 PM EDT up reply actions

If we can’t have Brooks, how about Bruce? He’s an old Leaf…

by The '67 Sound on Apr 22, 2010 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Interesting not on Laich, but otherwise it’s not exactly ground-breaking work Cox is doing here. A lot of the players he mentions ended up with American teams by circumstance more than anything… certain American teams sucked worse than all the Canadian ones, so they got the opportunity to select those star players. And hell, as we all know, it was a bouncing ball that led Crosby to Pittsburgh, he could have ended up anywhere, really.

To me, saying he has a theory on this Canadian team Cup drought is overselling the merits of his article.

leaf fan stuck in ottawa, a localized black hole that will suck everything in that area to oblivion.

by stucky on Apr 21, 2010 12:32 PM EDT reply actions

Totally agree, this was back to paint-by-numbers Damian. It’s not like we still have a territorial draft. All that Canadian talent that Canadian teams were “letting” go south went to teams that were horrendous and picked in the top 3. Before Edmonton this year, what was the last time a Canadian team picked in the top 3? I bet it would go back to the Sens in the mid 90s, because while there have been some bad Canadian teams since then, there haven’t been any atrocious ones.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

by The '67 Sound on Apr 21, 2010 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, it’s a ridiculous ‘theory’ unless Canadian teams somehow get to exceed the cap to nationalize talent.

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by PPP on Apr 21, 2010 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions

plus, there are 5 Canadian teams in a 30 team league. That’s about 17% of the teams – so one would expect 4 of 5 superstars (Canadian or otherwise) to be playing in the states, even if every player were assigned to teams by a Crosby powerball. Even team Canada only having 2 players from Canadian teams isn’t so far off what you would expect just on chance.

Glory glory Man United, AND the other MU, AAAAnd the Leafs. I think I need a drink now.

by Wan Ihite on Apr 21, 2010 4:27 PM EDT up reply actions