Brooks Laich was teammates with Alex Ovechkin on the Washington Capitals for 11 seasons. After arriving in DC during the 2003-04 campaign, Laich got to see Ovechkin rise from a baby-faced rookie to the juggernaut force that he is today.
Getting to sit right next to Ovechkin throughout his prime years gives Laich a unique perspective on the true competitor that The Great 8 was at the peak of his abilities. Laich recently spoke about those days during a guest spot on the Empty Netters podcast, sharing his belief that Ovechkin’s competitive drive was unmatched in the NHL.
“The thing that he does have, I’ll wage war on this, he could compete at a level that no other guy could,” Laich said. “Even Crosby, even MacKinnon now. I was so close to him, too; we’re teammates, so you see the f***ing fire in his eyes. He had just ferocity in his eyes, and he could kill you. He could go through you, around you, however you wanted to play it, he could play it. And that is what he did better than any player in the league, and it just pulled you into war. When you saw him and his first three, four, five years, he wrecked everything.
“Remember Douglas Murray? San Jose Sharks. He was a fridge on skates. Him and Ovi had, we lost the game, I think, 3-2 in San Jose or something, but there’s one night, they had four full tilt collisions in the last 40 seconds. Just f***ing cause. I remember seeing Ovi do that and just go, ‘This guy is amazing.’ Like, it is impossible for you not to be dragged into the fight when that guy goes and does that.”
Ovechkin hit his scoring peak in back-to-back seasons in the late 2000s, notching a career-high 65 goals and 112 points during the 2007-08 campaign and then scoring 56 goals and tallying 110 points during the 2008-09 season. That dominant two-year stretch earned him an Art Ross Trophy, two Rocket Richard Trophies, two Lester B. Pearson Awards, and two Hart Trophies as league MVP.
During those seasons, Ovechkin wasn’t only delivering massive amounts of punishment on the scoreboard, but also to any player who dared to step in his way. He recorded 463 hits across those two years, which ranked third in the entire NHL across that stretch, beaten out only by Dustin Brown (596) and future teammate Brooks Orpik (548).
“It’s a blend of skill and physicality that’s never been seen,” Laich said. “I know there’s other players that have done it, but not at this level. Not the way he hit. I ran into him at times in practice, and you’re like, ‘Yeah, you’re solid,’ and then I ran into him in the World Championships in 2013, I’m like, ‘Oh, you’re a bear.’ I’ve spent 10 years playing with you, but to now feel it, you’re a bear. When he shakes your hand, it’s like a 10-pound weight hitting your hand. And he pounds beers like a bear, like a grizzly bear. He’s amazing.”
While Ovechkin has toned down his physicality in recent seasons, the competitive drive to win is still clearly there. The 40-year-old winger is set to decide this summer if he wants to play another season for the Capitals and has said one of the top factors in his possible return will be whether he believes the Capitals are set to compete for another Stanley Cup.
“We have to fight for a Cup,” Ovechkin said last month. “That’s probably the biggest thing. Otherwise, if you take different scenario, like family-wise, health-wise, but in team-wise, I think this is the most important thing for me.”
Laich barely missed out on the Capitals’ successful run to the 2018 Stanley Cup, departing the organization at the 2015-16 trade deadline, when he was dealt north to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He spent two more years playing pro hockey, ending his NHL career after a 2017-18 campaign with the Los Angeles Kings.
After officially announcing his retirement in 2021, Laich is now a world-traveling entrepreneur who recently founded World Playground, a commission-free travel booking platform. He and his fiancée, CrossFit Games champion Katrín Davíðsdóttir, had their first child this past October and are set to be wed in August.
