Capitals Sign Brooks Laich

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

As first reported by Capitals senior writer Mike Vogel this morning, the Washington Capitals have re-signed forward Brooks Laich to a six-year, $27 million contract. The agreement was reached only days before Laich would have become a unrestricted free agent and he surely would have fetched large offers from many teams, including Boston, Toronto, and Los Angeles, among others. Laich's contract will have an annual hit on the salary cap of $4.5 million, but is front-loaded, and he will be the third highest-paid Capital next season behind only Alexander Ovechkin and Alexeander Semin, according to the website Capgeek. The deal also includes a limited no-trade clause for the first four years.
If you've been paying attention over the last two months, I have been saying repeatedly that Brooks Laich is the one player that the Caps cannot afford to lose this offseason. Well, they won't. There is no doubt that this contract is a little steep for a player like Brooks, and his cap number is inflated for the skill set that he brings to the table.  But the team really had no choice to bring him back based on all the positive things he brings to the table and the way he has meshed with the club. I like this deal to an extent, and it still gives the Caps room; though they overpaid a bit, they still did not break the bank. But now, the question becomes - who are the odd men out? Time will tell.