Mid-season trades of popular veterans can often be emotional, but this week’s trade of Brooks Laich felt especially resonant for a few reasons. Laich was the longest-tenured pro athlete not just for the hockey team, but in all of Washington. He had proclaimed — during one of his weekly radio segments — that this was the best Caps team he had ever played for. After years of talking obsessively about team success, he got dealt from the league’s best team to last-place Toronto. And as luck would have it, Laich wound up with less than 48 hours to process the move before his new team headed to Washington for Wednesday’s game against the Caps.
Former Caps teammates wish Brooks Laich well, plan to shoot him in the foot
