Washington Capitals Top Ten Centers In Team History

Washington Capitals Top Ten Centers: #8

Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Coming in at number eight on our list of the best Washington Capitals centers in team history fans favorite Brooks Laich. Laich was traded to the Washington Capitals for Peter Bondra.

"Laich played in all 82 games for the Capitals during the 2007–08 season, and set career highs in goals, assists and points. His 21 goals ranked third overall on the team. He led the Capitals with two short handed goals, and played in his 200th career regular season game. After a two-goal game against the Atlanta Thrashers, Laich summed up his philosophy towards scoring: “If you want money, go to the bank. If you want bread, go to the bakery. If you want goals, go to the net.” During the playoffs, Laich had a five-game point streak in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals against the Philadelphia Flyers. This tied him for the longest point streak during the first round of the playoffs. As a restricted free agent after the season, Laich signed a three-year deal with the team on July 9, 2008. The 2008–09 season saw Laich play in all 82 games for the Capitals again, where he set new career highs in goals, assists and points; he scored 23 goals and added 30 assists, breaking the 50-point plateau for the first time in his career. During the Capitals’ playoff run, Laich played in 14 games and added seven points. He assisted on the overtime winning goal in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Final against the eventual Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins. Laich’s streak of consecutive games played was broken in the 2009–10 season, when he missed four games with a cheekbone injury in February 2010. He still managed to set new career highs in both goals (25) and assists (34). On February 10, shortly after returning from injury, Laich recorded his first career NHL hat trick against the Montreal Canadiens. During the playoffs, Laich scored the last goal of the Capitals season during Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens. – Wikipedia"

Here’s how Brooks Laich compares to the other centers who qualified.

• 682 games played (third out of 23)
• 132 goals (seventh out of 23)
• 185 assists (eighth out of 23)
• 317 points (eighth out of 23)
• -1 plus-minus rating (12th out of 23)

Sadly, injuries have negatively affected Laich’s career. Hopefully, Washington Capitals fans will remember Laich as the net crashing, hard checking, penalty killing forward that he still is to this day.

Next: Number Seven: A Carpenter