{"id":649330,"date":"2026-05-17T23:19:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T23:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/649330\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T23:19:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T23:19:07","slug":"brooks-laich-tells-story-of-capitals-teammates-offering-him-6000-to-eat-poutine-at-a-bar-im-like-im-not-eating-it-because-i-was-an-obsessive-health-nut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/649330\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooks Laich tells story of Capitals teammates offering him $6,000 to eat poutine at a bar: \u2018I\u2019m like, I\u2019m not eating it, because I was an obsessive health nut\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

During his playing career with the Washington Capitals<\/a>, Brooks Laich proved that he couldn\u2019t be tempted by even the finest of Canadian delicacies: poutine.<\/p>\n

Laich, a self-described health nut, was part of a young Capitals team in the late 2000s and early 2010s that didn\u2019t all exactly ascribe to the same diligent routine as their principled teammate. He recently told a story on the Empty Netters podcast<\/a> about how a group of Caps teammates, including Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green, once offered him $6,000 if he would just stray from his diet for one night and wolf down some French fries, cheese curds, and gravy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember there was one time it was Ovi, it was Nicke, it was Greener, trying to think who else was there,\u201d Laich said<\/a>. \u201cWe were in Montreal, and they had a poutine sitting on the table. We\u2019re out at some bar, they had a poutine sitting on the table, and the pot was up to six thousand dollars for me to eat this poutine. I\u2019m like, I\u2019m not eating it, I\u2019m not eating it, because I was like an obsessive health nut.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had it up to over six thousand dollars to eat this poutine. I\u2019m like \u2018No, what is wrong with you guys?\u2019 I never did it. I never even had a bite of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Laich provided most of the story\u2019s details accurately, he was slightly corrected in the comments on the Empty Netters Instagram post<\/a> by a fellow former Cap, defenseman Karl Alzner.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was Winnipeg!\u201d Alzner wrote. \u201cShark Club, remember it like it was yesterday, as I was just finishing my poutine\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

While the ins and outs of Ovechkin\u2019s legendary diet<\/a> have been explored for several years now, Laich also revealed that another member of the \u201cYoung Guns\u201d had a similar routine in his younger years.<\/p>\n

\u201cMike Green would score two goals and go get two Five Guys hamburgers on the way home and just pound them,\u201d Laich said. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Mike, you can\u2019t do that.\u2019 And he\u2019s like, \u2018It\u2019s working for me,\u2019 it\u2019s where he scored 31 the one year. I\u2019m like, \u2018It\u2019s not because of the hamburgers,\u2019 but for him it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Green, apparently fueled by those burgers, scored 31 goals and recorded 73 points in 68 games for the Capitals during the 2008-09 campaign. He finished second in Norris Trophy voting for the NHL\u2019s top defenseman, behind just Zdeno Chara.<\/p>\n

While Laich may have faced some light teasing for his strict regimen, he finished the stories about his former pals with only good things to say about them. \u201cI like when I get to talk about them again because they\u2019re just great human beings, great people, and such a joy in my life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Laich has continued to stay in great shape post-playing career and will be getting married to CrossFit Games champion Katr\u00edn Dav\u00ed\u00f0sd\u00f3ttir later this summer. Safe to say there probably won\u2019t be poutine at the reception.<\/p>\n

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