A Fond Farewell to Michael Latta
Latta is barking at T.J. Oshie during pregame warm-ups. (Caps Outsider)
Michael Latta was brought to the Caps as part of the infamous trade that sent Fillip Forsberg to the Nashville Predators. Latta was a third round pick by Nashville in the 2009 entry draft.
Latta played a total of 113 games with Washington from 2013-2016. In that time Latta had 17 points, seven last season, and racked up 130 PIMs.
Here is his first NHL goal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxslxVOeZX0
And then there was this:
Some of Latta’s best moments on the ice did not include offense. Before playoff games, Latta and Wilson prepared Oshie to quite literally take a slash to the back.
New pregame ritual? #CapsRoomies https://t.co/VueeMTiYOR
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 2, 2016
Latta was a guy who would always stand up for his teammates. The best example of this was on December 28 when the Caps faced the Buffalo Sabres. Nicolas Deslauriers delivered a questionable hit to Justin Williams without receiving a penalty. Shortly after, Latta fought Deslauriers.
Some of Latta’s most memorable moments came off the ice, like when he and roommate Tom Wilson went swimming with dolphins.
Or when Latta took over the Caps’ Twitter account and said this about his roommate:
I like my dog way more than Willy. ^ML RT @supjulz: @tom_wilso @Latta17 do you two ever cuddle? Or save all the cuddles for his dog
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 7, 2015
It was no secret that Latta and Wilson were great friends, much like Jason Chimera and Joel Ward.
Latta had this to say after he did not receive a qualifying offer from the Capitals making him a unrestricted free agent.
Thank you Washington, love the city, love the fans. Looking forward to earning an opportunity somewhere else.
— Michael Latta (@Latta17) June 27, 2016
Tom Wilson chimed in:
https://twitter.com/tom_wilso/status/747559197600972800
https://twitter.com/tom_wilso/status/747559275073961985
Latta will probably be missed more off the ice than on it. These are the types of moments where, sometimes rather abruptly, we are reminded sports is a business.