According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the Washington Capitals have placed Brooks Laich, the team’s longest-tenured player, on waivers.
Laich (WSH), Porter (MIN), Talbot (BOS) on waivers.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 27, 2016
What this means is that if no team claims him by noon on Sunday, then he will be assigned to Hershey, where $950,000 of his $4.5 million cap hit will be relieved. That would be enough for the team to activate Jay Beagle off of injured reserve.
Laich, 32, was signed to the hefty six-year extension in 2011, before nagging injuries turned the Saskatchewan native from one of the organization’s most reliable forwards into a fourth-liner averaging just a few minutes a game. He was acquired in 2004 via a trade that sent Peter Bondra to Ottawa in the midst of the “fire sale” engineered by then-general manager George McPhee before the 2004-05 lockout.
Assuming he goes unclaimed, Laich would be eligible to return to the team in April for the playoffs, where neither the 23-man roster limit nor the salary cap come into play.
Brooks Laich before the 2014 home opener (Photo by Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)
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