There was once a day when Washington Capitals’ forward Brooks Laich was a hardworking, productive leader for his team. After two straight injury-plagued seasons, sadly that day is no more.
Laich, a Wawota, Saskatchewan native, has been suffering from a recurring groin injury that has managed to keep him out of the Caps’ lineup for the majority of their past two campaigns.
It all started as a direct result of the 2012-13 NHL lockout. During the league’s three-month delay, Laich played for the Kloten Flyers in the NLA (National League A), the top tier of Swiss hockey. In 19 games played, he scored six goals and 12 assists for 18 points. However, he also experienced a devastating groin injury that saw Laich miss all but nine games during the lockout-shortened season.
Taking into consideration that he had appeared in all 82 games in each of the prior two seasons, this was especially disappointing to the organization. It also made it even more troubling that it happened overseas as opposed to occurring with the Caps themselves.
Unfortunately, this year has been much of the same for Laich as he has only played in 51 of Washington’s 75 games. While some would say that missing one-fourth of the season isn’t the end of the world, the nature of the injury combined with consistent lingering effects are incredibly concerning.
Additionally, even when Laich has been apart of the active lineup for the Capitals this season, his play has been subpar at best. This may be due to the fact he has never fully recovered. He was constantly forced to skip practices and even a few games in order to actually be healthy enough to participate in future outings. Simply put, he has not been anywhere close to 100% at any point this year and his team has suffered greatly for it.
With no permanent solution to this lasting injury, Laich recently made a last-ditch effort to finally solve this persistent problem. Two weeks ago, the Caps announced that Laich met with groin specialist Michael Brunt in St. Louis. He underwent surgery in an attempt to alleviate his ongoing issues.
A press release statement from @CapitalsPR was posted on Twitter reading:
“Brooks Laich underwent a successful procedure to release a tight adductor. This procedure generally takes 4-6 weeks for a full recovery.”
A 4-6 week estimated recovery window virtually means that Laich’s season has once again come to a premature end. This must be yet another huge displeasure for the Capitals organization. Keep in mind, the 30-year-old left wing holds the third longest contract on the team. He is set to earn an annual average of $4.5 million through the 2016-17 season. With three years remaining at a cap hit of that extent, the miniscule possibility of a full, setback-free recovery for Laich is simply not enough to keep him around for the entire contract.
While a nagging injury such as this one is undoubtedly frustrating to a player, Laich remains extremely optimistic about where he is now and how he has been feeling following his surgery.
“I feel like I had chains around my body and now somebody just came and cut them off and now I’m free to move about in any direction at any time I want. And it’s completely liberating. That’s honestly how I feel — mentally and physically liberated and free to get on with my hockey career and excel in the sport, not just participate.”
As enthusiastic as he seems, we’ve all heard this hopefulness before. Laich has professed these very same statements of confidence on numerous occasions prior to returning to the Caps’ lineup. Therefore, is this a realistic assessment that the organization and fans alike should believe? Absolutely not. Washington must buy Laich out at the conclusion of this year, no questions asked. The lack of dependability has forced the Capitals’ into being unsure as to what kind of player they are getting on a daily basis. That just isn’t the recipe for success, especially for an already struggling team that lacks that same consistency.
The problem now lies within the undetermined and unpredictable status of Laich’s future health. According to the new collective-bargaining agreement put into place at the beginning of last season, players who are in long-term injured reserve status are ineligible from compliance buyouts. For example, the Philadelphia Flyers were unable to buyout defenseman Chris Pronger because of his LTIR status. This could very well be the exact same situation that the Capitals will be forced to endure if Laich suffers a similar fate.
Regardless of whether or not he can ever successfully overcome his daunting obstacle, it would be in the best interest of the entire team as a whole to cut Laich loose and move on from all of the discouragement that accompanied him.
Laich has composed eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in 51 games played and is a minus seven for the Caps this season. As of this week, he has been played on injured reserve per the official NHL roster.
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