Can I buy a vowel?

Brooks Laich has always been one of the young leaders on this team, and he is progressing toward being one of the veteran leaders. With Sergei Fedorov and Donald Brashear gone, the Caps will be looking for more leadership.

Before we begin a debate about how to quantify such a quality/skill, let's just say that Laich will be one of the go-to guys in that department.

"I think's he got leadership built into him," Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He was a leader last year, and guys really respect him alot. He's definitely so much a leader that he's a guy that you consider putting an "A" on.

As for other guys who are in the mix for the second assistant captain role (along with Alex Ovechkin) Boudreau also named Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green, Mike Knuble, Tom Poti, David Steckel and Matt Bradley. There are no shortage of candidates -- in fact, Boudreau could probably figure out a rotation (have two guys at home and two guys on the road, something like that).

Check the paper tomorrow for more on Laich, who I'd guess is one of the 2-3 favorites for tha "A" on his jersey (along with Backstrom and Poti).