Laich'n It

I guess we can stop trending Brooks Laich's name on twitter and endless blog post on whether we should keep him or dump him, because the Washington Capitals have resigned him to a 6 year contract (people who get flat tires after game 7 enter cheers here).

Per Caps PR:

ARLINGTON, VA. – The Washington Capitals have re-signed center Brooks Laich to a six-year contract, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. In keeping with club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
 
“We are very pleased to have Brooks Laich continue his career as a Washington Capital,” said McPhee. “Brooks has excelled as one of the League’s finer two-way players and is just entering his prime. His combination of size, speed, versatility and leadership makes him a valuable part of our club.”
 
Laich, 28, finished fourth on the Capitals in points (48), fifth in goals (16) and third in assists (32) while posting a plus-14 plus/minus rating and collecting 46 penalty minutes. For the third time in his career, he played in all 82 of Washington’s regular-season games and finished second on the Caps with 207 shots on goal. In addition, Laich closed out the 2010-11 campaign fifth on the team in hits (113) and won 51.3 percent of his faceoffs. He scored his 100th career NHL goal on Mar. 15 at Montreal and finished second on the team in points during the playoffs (7) while leading the Caps with six postseason assists in nine games. Laich also finished first amongst Capitals forwards in average shorthanded ice time per game (2:18) and was instrumental in leading the Caps penalty kill unit that ranked second in the NHL during the regular season.      
 
“I’m thrilled to make the commitment to remain a Capital,” said Laich. “It is a wonderful organization with terrific fans and I’m very happy to continue to call Washington home for many years to come.”
 
The 6’2”, 215-pound center set career-highs in goals (25), assists (34) and points (59) during the 2009-10 season and scored 20 or more goals in three straight seasons from 2007-2010. In 475 career regular-season games, Laich has recorded 237 points (100 goals, 137 assists) and is a plus-14. In 37 career playoff games, he has tallied seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points.
 
The Wawota, Saskatchewan, native is second among active Capitals players in franchise games played (474), fifth in points (237), third in goals (100) and fifth in assists (137). Laich is 15th amongst his 2001 draft class in points but is one of only three players in the top 15 to be drafted later than the third round.
 
Laich was a sixth-round draft pick (193rd overall) by Ottawa in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He was acquired from Ottawa along with the Senators’ second-round draft pick in 2005 (traded to Colorado) and future considerations for Peter Bondra on Feb. 18, 2004. 

Caps Trade Away 1st Rd Pick

The Capitals never picked a player in the first round of the NHL Draft at Excel Energy Center in St. Paul Minnesota. But they did get a player that can be infused to the line up right now in Troy Brouwer.

Brouwer, a right winger that has a ring, scored 17 goals, had 36 points last season with the Chicago Blackhawks. He also had 8 playoff points during Chicago's Stanley Cup run.

The Capitals will not choose again until the fourth round (117th pick overall) barring any other trades.

Caps Make A Trade

The Caps make another move. This time a trade with Nashville. Per Caps PR:

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have acquired left wing Taylor Stefishen from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a conditional draft pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.
 
Stefishen, 20, spent last season with the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The 6’, 185-pound left wing finished second on the team with 67 points (24 goals, 43 assists) and 72 penalty minutes in 68 regular season games and added four points (two goals, two assists) in four playoff games. 
 
The North Vancouver, British Columbia native transferred to Prince George after spending two seasons in the NCAA with Ohio State University, recording 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 42 collegiate games.
 
During the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, he tallied 137 points (58 goals, 79 assists) and 144 penalty minutes in 116 games for the Langley Chiefs of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). 
 
Stefishen was a fifth-round draft pick (136th overall) of the Predators in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He is scheduled to attend the Capitals’ rookie camp in July. 

Caps Sign Swede

6:00 am is much too early for some, but not for Japer's Rink who broke the story that the Washington Capitals have signed Swedish center/right winger Mattias Sjögren as daylight crept upon the metro area. The Caps who might be looking to add some size up the middle have signed the forward to the maximum amount a team can pay for rookies at $1.8 million.

Sjögren is a physical player at 6'2", 214 lbs. that the scouting reports claim is a player that doesn't shy away from the hit and asserts himself with well timed hits. The Capitals are addressing the size issue down the middle on lines 2, 3, 4. While his offensive skills are only labeled as decent, he can create space on the ice for himself.

Good work JP.

P.S. It was already 80˚ at 6 am in DC.