The Edmonton Oilers most glaring hole is now the second line center spot, and the team will need to go the trade route to fill it. There are not a ton of options out there, but over the next few days I’ll be looking at a few trade targets that could fill the major hole in the Oiler lineup.
Today, we head to Washington to see if Caps’ Center Brooks Laich could be of help.
The Contract:
The Caps spent a fortune on July 1st, overpaying big time for defender Brooks Orpik, then dishing out huge money for top gun Matt Niskanen. As a result, the Caps have only just over a million remaining in space and still need to add some depth to their NHL roster. While they have made improvements on defense, there is still work to be done.
Laich is a player that is making a decent chunk of change, coming in at $4.5 M per season for the next three years. That’s a hefty contract, and likely one the Caps would like to move. Edmonton could take on some of that money and still stay under the cap too.
The Player:
Laich is a veteran player at 31 years of age, and has a ton of NHL experience. He’s got some playoff experience too, and has played with super-skilled players before, having played years with Alex Ovechkin, Niklas Backstrom and Alex Semin during his days in Washington.
Laich brings a lot of size to the table too, standing in at 6’2” and 209 pounds, so he would quench a thirst for Edmonton down the middle. He’s played second line center before, and likely would be able to handle that role in Edmonton.
The lone problem with Laich in this regard is injuries. He played in only 51 games this past season, and got into only nine during the 2012-13 season. He’s a good player, but he’s missed a lot of time in recent seasons.
The Style:
Laich is a big boy, and while he isn’t going to be a Milan Lucic, he can handle himself physically out there and play some tough hockey. The Oilers need a guy that can bang and play with some skill down the middle, and Laich can do that to a degree. That’s a big time need for this club considering what everyone else has.
Offensively he produces what you would expect from a second line player. When he last played a full season, 81 games in 2011-12, he posted 41 points, a pretty respectable number. He posted 15 in 51 last year, and while that isn’t great, we have to keep in mind that the injury likely slowed him down in this regard.
He’s been a good point producer before, and while his numbers have been hurting here the last two years we can pin that on injury. Only question is, is that slow down going to be permanent. It’s a risk.
Laich proves valuable in the fact that he can play both special teams as well. He was used quite a bit on the PK in Washington, and played a decent chunk on the PP too. He could center a power-play unit with Nail Yakupov on his wing, and slide in behind Boyd Gordon on the PK unit, filling a few holes in the Oiler lineup.
In the Corsi For department, Laich was average, 48%, this past season. That’s good when you consider that the Caps were weak in this regard this year and that he battled so many injuries. He was 50% even in the nine games he played in 2013, and was 47.1% in his last full season in 2011-12.
He’s not a guy that can push the river, but he’s a player that is average in this regard. He’d be an upgrade over what Sam Gagner was in this spot last year.
The Ransom:
Due to his contract, health issues, and the Caps being so close to the cap, I think Edmonton could get him relatively cheap at this time. The Caps need forwards, and perhaps a young option that is NHL ready could help them.
Tyler Pitlick is young, appears ready to make the jump, and will likely have a very cheap cap hit this coming season. Pair him up with a second or third round draft pick or a prospect, and you might get the Caps to bite.
Like the Blues last year, the Caps are in a bit of a bind cap wise and need some depth in their line-up.
The Final Call:
He certainly is not the best option out there, but if Brooks Laich can be brought to Edmonton for a fair deal, then the Oilers should be willing to make the move. He could be a good NHL option down the middle for the next couple of seasons while the younger players develop.
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