Just days before Brooks Laich was set to become an unrestricted free agent, the Washington Capitals have signed the forward to a long term contract. He'll make $27 million over the next six years to stay in the Nation's Capital.
The Capitals announced the deal on their website via Mike Vogel. Laich has been a member of the Caps his entire career, aside from one game with the Ottawa Senators, the team that drafted him in 2001. In the six years he's spent there, Laich has emerged into one of the most important players on the club -- one of those guys that can play seemingly anywhere on the ice and in any situation.
It's a cap hit of about $4.5 million, and despite all that Laich can do, it does seem a little painful to a large dose of Capitals fans -- especially since they're locked in to that number for six years. Japers' Rink commenter Fehr and Balanced echoed that sentiment.
Not a fan. Bad term and dollars. I don't see much way we don't end up regretting this deal, certainly by the end of it. That is going to basically put the nail in the coffin for Zeus or a 3C, and make it very hard to keep Hannan or get another quality D. I'm not sure how much more active this team can be in the FA period with this, unless we start trading people.
For more on the deal and more debate amongst the Caps' faithful, be sure to head over to Japers' Rink.