Brooks Laich has re-signed with the Washington Capitals for six years and $27 million, which is an average of $4.5 million per season. That may seem like a lot of money, but he likely would have received even more had he hit the open market. So why did he decide to stay in D.C.?
Perhaps one reason was that the Capitals gave him a limited no-trade clause, according to Craig Custance of AOL/Sporting News. That no-trade clause will be for the first four years of his contract and will help prevent him from being dealt elsewhere. Capitals general manager George McPhee is traditionally reluctant to hand out no-trade clauses, which should tell you how the Capitals feel about Laich.
In other words, it looks like Capitals fans can indeed count on Laich playing in Washington D.C. for a very long time. The Capitals, in signing him the way they did, made it very difficult to deal him.
For more on Laich's signing, check out Japers' Rink.