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Goodbye, Brooks Laich

By Ian Oland

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February 29, 2016 12:52 pm

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Photo: @Hannah_Hovey

For twelve seasons, Brooks Laich was an important part of the Washington Capitals. Traded for one of the franchise’s then-greatest player (Peter Bondra), Laich managed to carve a niche for himself through hard work. He also was a gentleman to every Caps fan he came across. There were no exceptions.

A few years ago, Laich gave me one of my favorite memories while doing this site (besides him talking about his time playing lockout hockey in Switzerland). I went to Orioles Park at Camden Yards with Chris Gordon to cover Laich’s ceremonial first pitch. Laich was named after hall of fame third baseman Brooks Robinson and the Orioles organization wanted to honor him. Somehow, he and Ben Guerrero (former Caps PR) knew I was a huge fan of the team, so they allowed us to go along on part of Laich’s private tour of the Orioles clubhouse. Because of this, for about a minute I was rubbing elbows with Chris Davis and Adam Jones and walking wide-eyed through the Orioles’ weight room. It meant a lot to me.

Laich didn’t have to do that, but that’s just who he was: a guy who would take that extra moment to make you feel special. Last night, just as a cathartic exercise, I asked readers to tweet us their moments with Laich over the years. The response was staggering. It really gives you an idea of how many people he inspired over the years. He will be missed.