According to Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider, Brooks Laich can be added to the lengthening list of professional tryouts set to attend Kings’ camp this fall. Laich will join Chris Lee, Andrei Loktionov and Brandon Prust on PTOs in Los Angeles.
Laich is coming off a season in which he was buried for the entire year in the AHL due to a combination of his large cap hit, and the glut of young wingers ready to take the next step in Toronto. The veteran forward played 27 games for the Toronto Marlies, scoring nine points while dealing with injuries and an inconsistent role. At 34 he’ll be looking for a last chance in the NHL, but it does seem unlikely that he’ll lock down an NHL contract.
A veteran of 764 NHL games, Laich is a three-time 20-goal scorer who at one point was a key component of the Washington Capitals. Scoring 331 points in his career, he is coming off a six-year, $27MM extension he signed in 2011 right after completing his third straight season of 48 or more points. The deal almost immediately looked like an overpay, as Laich would take a substantial step backwards after the 2012-13 lockout, and scored just 14 points in his last full season (2015-16). He’ll try to prove that he has something left and can add a veteran presence to the bottom-six in Los Angeles.
Pack it in. You were done 3 years ago.