I was sad to read this piece in the Washington Post this morning.
I will never ever say anything negative about Olie Kolzig. He has been a great player. He is a great person and I will always take the high road about anything having to do with Olie. He is truly one of my favorite players ever to wear a Caps jersey. Our fan base loves Olie Kolzig and deservedly so. I will always respect what he says and support him in any decision he makes.
I will try to connect with George McPhee and Dick Patrick today to discuss this matter.
We have not spoken to Olie since the season ended and we now need to get together with Olie to discuss the content of this article. It would have been better for us to connect before this story ran but such is life in professional sports.
I am proud of the way our team played this year and I am proud of all of the contributions made by every single player and member of management. We achieved our goal of winning a division title and of making the playoffs. That was our key deliverable to our fan base and for the health of our franchise.
I, too, wish we had been able to hoist a Stanley Cup together.
Victor-
Prove to me–beyond ANY doubt and not using stats from earlier in the season, his record, or his age, that the Caps would NOT have made the playoffs if Olie was in net. There ARE parallels between Cal & Olie–for one, they BOTH played with a team that STUNK for years…Cal was chasing a record..THAT’S why people went to Camden Yards…nobody came to games here for the last 4 years to see Kris Beech–they came for Olie and Ovey–Olie still got some of the loudest cheers at VC this season; don’t tell me otherwise. Are you a shareholder in the Caps or Ted’s limo driver or something?
Couldn’t have said it better myself: ” You should have communicated your thoughts and direction with him.
Frankly, your handling of this entire debacle has left a much more sour taste in the mouths of the fans than the season ending Game 7 overtime goal ever will.”
I can’t fully express in words the pride I have in the way the Caps played during the last part of the season (from mid-Feb thru to Game 7 with the Flyers). A core part of that, to be sure, is Huet. That has nothing to do with having the courtesy and respect to communicate something…ANYTHING… to a guy who dedicated his whole career to one team. As proud as I am of our team after the trade deadline, I am ashamed of the way the teams management performed during that same period.
Re: R’s post (#32) — big difference between Cal Ripken in his final years and Olie in his final years – CAL SOLD TICKETS!!! Olie didn’t!! People travelled from all over the country to see Cal Ripken and to see Camden Yards. You’re delusional if you think there are parallels to Cal and Olie. The snOrioles/wO’s/zerO’s and Peter Angelos ‘used’ Ripken those last few years. Winning doesn’t matter to Peter Angelos — the almighty buck does. Winning matters to Ted. Money’s important too (you never want to lose money, you want to make handfuls of it), but from what I gather (have never talked to Ted), winning comes first. Could Ted and GMGM handled it a little differently? Sure. Is and was Olie being unreasonable and acting like a baby? YUP. If Olie was the goalie throughout March, do you think we would have won the division and made the playoffs? HELL NO!
Shame on Olie for how he handled this. Olie did NOT handle things the right way.
I guess I’ll be different than most of the commentors in this thread. I don’t think management did anything wrong. I think this is more a matter of Olie (who was a great guy in DC) just not being able to see what the rest of the world sees and expecting to continue to be coddled like he was under Hanlon. Unfortunately, the Hanlon way of doing things got us nowhere fast.
Huet’s play, not GMGM or Boudreau, replaced Olie.
The putrid capitals fans that crapped on Ollie deserve nothing! He carried this franchise for three lousy losing seasons, and his overall stats show it!
Why didn’t the Ollie haters attack huet after he lost games 2,3,4? they would have attacked Ollie relentlessly.
Ted, you stood by your coach, but he should have had the stones to play Ollie in 5, 6, or 7.
Bottom Line.
First Gartner, then Bondra, now Kolzig. Become a star in DC, get treated like dirt…
The treatment of Kolzig by this organization was shameful and despicable.
I’ve been a season ticket holder for 9 years and will not renewing my season tickets next year because of how this organization treated Kolzig. Olie was the major reason why I became a Caps fan in the first place.
After the decision had been made to play Huet down the stretch, GMGM should have contacted Olie and explained to him that this (Huet) was the direction the Caps were headed next year. YOU or GMGM should have made it very clear to Kolzig that you wanted him working for the team, either in the front office or as an assistant coach, and that he could pick his job and salary (within reason).
If Kolzig elects not to retire, but to play for another team, his number should be retired on the first day of the season, or the first day that his new team visits Verizon Center.
Ted,
I do respect you as an unique owner in this league that reaches out to the fans..but..Kolzig was treated horribly. Huet did not play that well during the playoffs and Olie deserved a shot. He has done everything for this franchise and to not be given a chance by Boudreau is sad. Kolzig deserves better than that…maybe the first round exit from the playoffs will make ya see the light…
As low as the Orioles have become, they never would have let Cal Ripken, in the twilight of his career, be treated with such classlessness as Olie has been. I will still be a full STH, I will still be a Caps fan, but that doesn’t mean I have to approve of management’s decision to let the face of this team for 19 years leave the way he has. He deserved better.
I think GMGM’s comments about “Washington’s been good to Olie” are shameful, especially coming from a management team that has historically treated players respectfully in public. This is even more surprising coming from George since he’s the one who put Olie in this awkward situation to begin with. Olie’s departure should not be a time for George to get his licks in. If anything, he should be apologizing or at least making an effort to meet with the guy who’s helped him keep his job for so long. As John Thompson said on 980, we all expected a lot more from McPhee. And I think it’s fair to say that Olie deserved more.
I had my say but as the day wore on and fellow hockey fans at work let off steam about the way our great netminder has been treated, I am still mad if not moreso. I also read today that you hope to get Federov to return on the cheap. Could you please order a stand down for the entire front office, Ted, and invest in a PR/Psychology total immersion course? Why didn’t you focus on the positive benefits of joining us instead of the prospect of a humiliating salary cut? After that little news gem, it wouldn’t surprise me if the next time he skates here will be on his way to a 4th Stanley Cup, with Another Team!! It would be poetic justice if Kolzig was in net! I wish them both the best. I hope you guys find your class act again — fast!
It is always sad when an old friend leaves town.
Maybe the whole situation could have been handled better but people have to remember that picking up Huet was about far more than this past season. It was just as much about the next few seasons as it was about the playoff run this year.
As much as I love Olie the Goalie it was becoming increasingly clear that he was no longer a true #1 goalie. That’s not criticizing the man – I’m the same age as Olie and I know I can’t do all the things I was able to do years ago.
Picking up a #1 goalie in the prime of his career for a 2nd round pick (plus the headache of re-signing him if the team liked what it saw) seems pretty sound to me.
A bridge between Olie and whichever of the two hotshots down on the farm proves to be the goalie of the future.
For all of the talk about how classy the Caps organization is, this episode demonstrates that some in the Caps hierarchy need some refresher courses. I hope in the future we do better by the likes of players such as Olie.
I have to admit I was tearing up when I read the article this morning on post.com as well.
While the team has to do what’s best for it getting to the next level, I never imagined it being with out Olie. He will always be Mr. Capital to me…no matter where he goes. I can imagine when he comes back, even with another team, the chats will be deafening.
Since I’m 10+ hours from DC these days, its hard to get to a game. But I will ensure the next time I’m at the phone booth will be the day that his jersey is retired.
Olie is a true Washingtonian. He is pure class at its highest. In 2000, Olie was a Washingtonian of the Year. http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/6201.html
I watched Olie come up through the years. I have been a CAPS fan for years and was a season ticketholder when Don Beupre was goaltender so I really have seen Olie’s career. Olie is the same age as me and I don’t consider myself old. I could only wish that I could retire from my job. I know its different in sports. You can’t play forever. I think that the Washington Capitals owe him a better send off than this. He is as loyal as they come and maybe he just wants that recognized. There was a time when fans screamed Olie and there was a Godzilla everywhere. Maybe those times have passed or maybe the fans needed to be reminded or maybe Olie needed to be reminded. I just know that this fan has always been as loyal as Olie and when someone like him is leaving on a sad or bad note than its not good for the fans and its never forgotten. Olie is a Washington Capital and should retire as one. Years from now his number should be retired. He stuck with this team and with these fans. Someone in the CAPS organization has made him feel less important.
It was very clear that this coach didn’t want Olie on the team. I guess he’s the coach, and that is his choice. But Olie would not have let the Flyers get inside his head the way Huet did.
I will support whatever team picks up Olie. Olie is an athlete of a dying breed – classy, respectful, loyal. He was betrayed by the Caps and is hurt, rightfully so.
I am in disbelief as to how the Caps could have handled this SO badly. This man gave his career to this team, only to be betrayed at the key point.
Go Zilla Go!
“but in the end was discarded like an old t-shirt, I loved you, but sorry you are a dust rag now”
Now THAT’S a big ol’buncha hyperbole!
I’ll take his $5.4 million salary for just one year to be an ‘old t-shirt’ or ‘dust rag’.
Olie IS Washington, DC and the Caps, and always will be.
Olie is the reason that I’m a hockey fan, and a Caps fan. I supported the Caps while living in Tampa (during their Cup run), and then in Boston. I finally got a chance to move to DC two years ago. Finally a chance to see a home Caps game. I was a partial plan holder the past two seasons(because of shift work), but will be a Full STH next year.
Ted, I hope that if Olie does not go to another team but opts to retire, that you invite him back on opening night. He should be there to help hoist the SE Division Champs banner, and maybe you could hoist his number 37 up there as well. If not, then he needs to have his own night at some point during next year. Myself and many fans would love to be able to say good bye to Olie in the best way that we can: A rousing standing Ovation filled with chants of O-lie O-lie O-lie!
Until next year. Cheers!
I hope he gets the chance to win a ring either as a coach or backup. He deserves it.
I wish Olie hadn’t run straight to the press, I think that was a bad judgement call but regardless, I wish him well. I respect him, and Huet and Johnson, for handling this situation with class. And I thank Olie for the great memories. It was not be the same not seeing #37 at the games or in practices. Hopefully he will be back on Verizon Center Ice, seeing the #37 being raised up next to #32.
You gotta love Olie Kolzig. It’s too bad that he chose to stay for the rebuild (Loyalty that is rarely seen in pro sports)and now that we’re getting good he’s getting old. I hate to see him go, but I think that given his age, he’s not a number 1 goaltender anymore. He’s a competitive guy and that may be a tough pill to swallow, but that’s the nature of pro sports. So why be a #2 guy anywhere else? If he gets a starting job somewhere, then I guess it’s understandable, but he shouldn’t make a lateral move as a #2 guy.
If he retires I hope we can find a place for him within the organization.
I hate to see a great player/person leave the organization. The guys in general are great guys to bump into in town and he will be missed dearly by any true fan of the team. So long Olie, good luck in whatever you end up doing and keep the thought that you got us there. There will never be another “GODZILLA”.
I certainly hope the Caps find a way of honoring Olie – perhaps retiring his jersey along with Bondra. He is a Caps legend in my book. My only concern is that his departure could get ugly. Stay classy everyone.
I’ve always had the utmost respect for you Ted, the way you formulated your game plan for the Capitals and the way you stuck to it. Your accessability to the fan base is unprecedented. I’ve not been such a huge proponent of George McPhee’s management style, but it now appears that he may have known something all along that we missed.
That said, the way the Capitals management treats it’s employees (players) speaks a lot about how it treats its customers (fans). I spent an awful lot of money on season tickets to watch, essentially, the Portland Pirates, following the fire sale. I emailed you and the front office about my concerns and was dismissed out of hand.
It seems that you have that same dismissive mindset when it comes to your key franchise players. Bondra leaving, literally in tears, has had a monumental affect on the fan base. We can’t even hang his jersey from the rafters until he has had time to forgive you. Now with this massive black cloud over Kolzig leaving/retiring the Capitals management have once again behaved despicably. After 19 years of dedication, after taking us to the Stanley Cup finals, after being a role model and motivator in the locker room, after being an ambassador, not only for the team, but for the sport of hockey and after resolutely sticking with this team through the good and the bad (and there’s been an awful lot of bad), after all this, he has been, essentially, discarded by the team.
He has been described as a classy guy, I think that is an understatement. With the majority of today’s sportsmen only making the news in a negative fashion, Kolzig is one of a selrct few role models that EVERYONE can look up to. He does not deserve this type of treatment. To leave him in the dark was the worse thing you could do. You should have communicated your thoughts and direction with him.
Frankly, your handling of this entire debacle has left a much more sour taste in the mouths of the fans than the season ending Game 7 overtime goal ever will.
This was extremely sad news, although not unexpected. I thought the organization had more class, but apparently not. This man deserves to have his sweater retired, and he deserves to be feted — instead, he was ignored. It’s shameful. Over all the years, he’s the one we listened to and believed, because he was honest and forthright, and always forward-looking. Why did you let this happen? Why didn’t you reach out to him? Didn’t anyone in the organization have any ideas about using his leadership, common sense and connection with the fans to the advantage of the club? Really, I’m embarrassed for the Capitals, and I will miss him terribly.
As sad as it is to see Olie go, I have to agree that this first announcement should have come through the Capitals Public Relations rather than the Washington Post.
I LOVE Kolzig.. this is gutwrenching… I CRIED reading the Post article… Whenever I think of the Caps, I think of Kolzig first above all – he’s been the backbone of our team for so long… He was driving the but to the Cup finals in ’98… and now I feel as if I’m watching him walk away and all I can do is watch, and feel my heart break… He will be more than missed; on and off the ice… Olie’s number MUST be retired; we want to celebrate ALL he has done for the team, for the community…. There will never be another ZILLA!!! OLIE! OLIE! OLIE!
I have no doubt Olie will do what is right for himself and his family first. While hockey and winning the Cup are important to him, I am sure his wife and kids are even more important.
It sounds like there won’t be any burned bridges here, and that when the time comes along they’ll have to move the US and Canadian flags a little further apart to hang #37 between them with the #5, #7, #32 and the expected #12…
Good luck Olie, you will definitely be missed here in Washington, DC
I agree, it is sad, and I wish it hadn’t played out this way. Olie has been a role model for so many kids in the area who wanted to be like him. I wish him the best and thank him for all he has given to the Capitals fans over the years.
“A natural outcome of how he was treated at the end of the year”
HUH?
Gotta go to bat for Ted & George on that. Olie was vastly overpaid these past 2 season (read: $5.5 mill per year), despite the fact that his skills had greatly diminished.
Excuse me, but dollars to doughnuts, you could poll every player in the league and I’d wager that every one of em that makes less would LOVE to be mistreated like that.
Olie didn’t play because his game has fallen off. He wasn’t mistreated. To make this claim is childish, and beneath the dignity one expects of a professional athlete.
Save the baloney for a sandwich!
Perhaps the Caps can create a nice tribute section on the site to Olie to say thanks if this is indeed goodbye. Let’s all be honest though, Olie was done as a number one and the painful move had to be made. It was the right move and there are no doubts about it.
The only way this ends up badly for the Caps is if they don’t sign Huet. Then we are back to square one with Johnson as the #1.
Ted’s comments about Olie are classy as always. Olie’s jersey will hang in the rafters at some point in the near future. Ted, let’s not let another Gartner situation happen like when Abe fumbled the ball on that one!!! Gart’s jersey should be in the rafters as well.
“It would have been better for us to connect before this story ran but such is life in professional sports.”
That’s pretty much it right there. I would have loved for Olie’s last moments in a Caps uniform to have been addressing the throngs of well-wishers at the end of a parade route, but there are only so many storybooks to go around.
For having never said anything beyond “Hi, you rock” to the man, I’m going to miss him a lot. It won’t be the same not seeing big number 37 between the pipes on F Street.
Do what you gotta do Olie. Good luck!
I am not at all offended by Olie talking to the Psot before he spoke with management. He wasn’t treated fairly or with respect though through the end of the season he spoke respectfully of the team and org and continued to make the name on the front mean more than the name on the back. You are right to take the high road now Ted.
Thanks Olie, you rock!
I have watched Caps hockey since they were first created. I remember going to games with my father and only 3,000 people were in the building. I say this for a reason. As much as we love Olie he is not the future any more. This is a team that will compete for many years to come, they now need a young net minder to grow with this team. Retire his number-raise it to the rafters, offer him a front office position when he is no longer active but remember the off years and what we currently have brewing and you’ll know that it was time for us to look in another direction. Because of his history in Washington, Olie could never be our #2. And that is sad but undeniable-Olie is making his decision to go look elsewhere. Good luck to Olie and his family.
The Caps are a team, and a business, and in both those areas, decisions will be made where feelings or sentimentality can’t and shouldn’t come into play. Look at poor Eminger – he is a capapble player, but there are guys ahead of him so he didn’t play that much this season. Both he and Kolzig are professionals and what happened to both comes with the business. I greatly enjoyed watching Kolzig’s play through the years and wish him well in all his future endeavors.
@Bob Bowdey
It isnt about loyalty…it’s about winning.
11,000 fans are loyal when we lose. 18,000+ when we win. Do the math.
I am so disappointed in the conduct of the Caps management in regards to the treatment of our beloved Olie. If there is no loyalty to Olie after all he has given this team and the community … then I’m not sure I can feel any loyalty to the Caps. Why should I buy tickets and merchandise to feather your nest?
Olie has carried this team on his back for years, and now he gets a raw deal. Yes, I am thrilled at the performance of the young players, but I also come back year after year because of Olie. Maybe the next person to get hit in the butt on his way out the door is McPhee.
I guess I see Olie talking to the Post as a natural outcome of the way he was treated at the end of the season. We all know that he could have left when the team started the big rebuild, he chose to stay, but in the end was discarded like an old t-shirt, I loved you, but sorry you are a dust rag now. He should have been put in after Huet dug a huge hole for the team, his playoff experience may have made the difference. But such is life in sports, eh? The Caps need to win and win big next year, one and done is NOT alright, if the team is not about loyalty, why should the fans be be about loyalty? All the best from a long time season ticket holder.
If Olie thinks he is a #1 goalie, and we think Huet would of played better down the stretch, then what else did we think would happen?
Olie would rather retire then be a #2. Is he our #1 goalie next year? No…So he moves on.
Sad to see we couldnt send him out with class..but thus is the trade deadline, and things happen quickly. You are a hockey legend in D.C Olie…retire or move on…you will be missed.
If Olie cant get a #1 somewhere else, then I will look back and say…”George McPhee told you so, and you didnt believe it” If you get a #1 gig, then good for you, and maybe the Caps should of waited it out…
Ted,
Did you talk to Olie before acquiring Huet? What’s fair for management is fair for the players. Expecting him to come to you first is a bit hypocritical, I think.
Alex