Laich vs Semin

The Caps' second line wingers this past season were fairly exceptional. Brooks Laich played tough minutes, beat them, and as a result received Selke attention. Meanwhile, Alexander Semin too played tough minutes, and almost came out with the best relative Corsi rating among Caps forwards, trailing Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. While they didn't score as much as in years past, Laich and Semin drove the play in the right direction.

With Brooks Laich looking like he'll be an unrestricted free agent in a few days, and Semin a UFA a year from now, it's critical to know how much credit each deserves for their success at puck possession, considering how often they played together. Did they each share the burden of their heavy lifting? Did Laich benefit from extended periods of dominance from Semin? Did Semin benefit from Laich's attention to defense?

Some Brooks Laich Advanced Stats

Until very recently, Laich was 1st in Corsi Rel.

Maybe keep these in mind when you read this piece. The second row of mouse-written numbers is Laich's rank among the 10 Caps forwards with at least 30 games played this season--Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Knuble, Alexander Semin, Brooks Laich, Marcus Johansson, Jason Chimera, Eric Fehr, Matt Hendricks, and David Steckel.

30 Caps in 30 Days: Brooks Laich

During the thirty days of September, I'll be trying to preview the seasons of thirty players currently under contract with the Washington Capitals and who have a good chance of spending some time in red, white, and blue this season. Advanced stats are given from behindthenet.ca ranked against other players at the same position--forward, defense, or goalie--in the same organization, at 5-on-5, unless otherwise noted. Age is on opening night. Teammates are those listed at 10% or greater and at even strength (though the percentage includes all manpower situations). Today, Brooks Laich)

Brooks Laich: age 27, 6'2", 210 pounds, shoots left.
Contract: $2.4 million with a $2.07 million cap hit, UFA in 2011, per Capgeek.
2009-2010 linemates: 18% Tomas Fleischmann and Alexander Semin, 10% Brendan Morrison and Alexander Semin
2010 playoff linemates: 19% Brendan Morrison and Alexander Semin, 16% Eric Fehr and Brendan Morrison, 10% Tomas Fleischmann and Alexander Semin

2009-2010 raw stats:
NHL: 78 GP, 25-34-59, +16, 222 shots, 34 PIM
Playoffs: 7 GP, 2-1-3, -2, 21 shots, 4 PIM

2009-2010 advanced stats: 10th in Corsi QoC, 3rd in Corsi Rel QoC, 6th in Corsi QoT, and 7th in Corsi Rel QoT. Zonestart 50.6% offensive zone (tenth) with Zonefinish 49.2% offensive zone (eleventh).
2010 playoffs advanced stats: 9th in Corsi QoC and Corsi Rel QoC, 4th in Corsi QoT, and 5th in Corsi Rel QoT.

(Photo courtesy Caps Snaps)