Maple Leafs place Brooks Laich on waivers

© Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

In an article with The Athletic yesterday, Brooks Laich expressed interest in continuing his NHL career with a different franchise and a desire to join a team on a Stanley Cup run. It seems the Toronto Maple Leafs are granting his wish, as the veteran centre has been placed on waivers. 

Laich has spent the entire season playing for Toronto’s AHL affiliate, and has recorded only one goal and five assists over 22 games. It’s very clear that his days of being a productive top-six player who can chip in with 20 goals and contribute defensively are over, but there’s some reason to believe Laich can still be a decent depth player on a contending team. 

At $4.5 million, he obviously isn’t worth it in that kind of role, but if a team claims him on waivers, he’ll only cost them $1.2 million for the remainder of the season. And this would also be ideal for the Leafs, because if someone does take his contract off their hands, they’ll save $946,666 on the cap for the rest of the season, giving them even more room to work with come trade deadline time. 

With the trade market so heavily favouring the seller, Laich might actually be a good option for a team needing to add a veteran down the middle. I mean, it’s been rumoured that Brian Boyle out of Tampa Bay would cost a first round draft pick, so Brooks Laich for nothing other than a $1.2 million cap hit may be appealing to a team that doesn’t want to pay the price in prospect or draft pick capital.