Washington Capitals: Fan Guide to 2015-2016 (Part 2)
Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports
Laich – #21
Position: Center/Left Wing
The longest tenured players on the Washington Capitals, forward Brooks Laich (pronounced “Like”) has been a fan favorite for a long while. Praised for much of his career for his endurance of consecutive game streaks (before injuries derailed his career) and providing countless shifts of difficult penalty killing work, it’s sometimes too easy to forget exactly how valuable Brooks has and continues to be to the Washington Capitals.
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Brooks is off to a good start in 2015-2016. Part of this, naturally, is Brooks meticulous attention to taking care of his body and crafting his game. Another part of this, I’d also venture to say, could be the juggling of priorities in his personal life. Brooks is, after all, a freshly engaged man. He’s engaged to Julianne Hough of television’s Dancing With The Stars.
Brooks was caught by Sports Net Canada contemplating some of the finer things in life away from hockey during a candid moment last New Year Eve and opened up about the new love of his life.
The couple is adorable together, and we all wish them well. When he’s not being tracked on walks by paparazzi, he’s busy being one of the stars on the Washington Capitals penalty killing unit. Brooks is a two-way forward mostly, meaning he’s more likely to play responsible defensive-minded hockey first then whiz missiles past opposing goalies. That’s not to say that he doesn’t have a scorer’s touch. He still shows it from time to time.
One of my favorite Brooks Laich moments was following a devastating playoff series loss in 2011, where regular guy Brooks Laich spotted a distressed motorist on the side of the road on his way back from the rink after playing in the evening’s game and stopped to help the woman change a flat tire. The woman was extremely grateful and we were all pretty impressed by the chivalry and selflessness of Mr. Laich.
Laich’s career is probably winding down a bit. It’s hard to justify his $4,000,000 team salary for most fans, but Brooks has been a Capital since 2003 and I think the organization is returning some of that loyalty by showing their commitment to him. Plus, you know, that contract is pretty binding and all through the end of this season. At the end of the day, Brooks is one of the good guys and we’re happy to have him aboard.
He might not have any goals or points this season, but he’s been outstanding as far as puck possession.
Next: MoJo