This article just went up on our website. It is well done and very meaningful. I’m glad Mike was able to connect with Olie and get his thoughts out there. Good work.
Ted's Take
This article just went up on our website. It is well done and very meaningful. I’m glad Mike was able to connect with Olie and get his thoughts out there. Good work.
My 14 year old son, a stellar record-setting goalie in the Philly area (born in Arlington, VA), is the ONLY goalie here, at any level, to wear number 37. Why? Because he grew up in Washington watching Olie Kolzig. More than just watching him on the ice, he watched him off-ice — what he did for autism, what he did in the locker room, etc. Even he, at his young age, understands that hockey is a business. But even he also realizes that it is players like Olie who bring paying customers to the rink. He learned, sadly, by watching the crappy way Bruce Boudreau, Mr. McPhee, and yes, Mr. Owner himself treated Olie in his final stint that loyalty is a one way street. Ted, thank you for making my job as a parent and coach even tougher than it already was. The way you treated Olie was nothing less than abbhorent, and your comments in the media about Olie “always being a Cap” ring so hollow.
As a long time Caps fan, since ’78, I have never been more disappointed in a team or an owner. Abe Pollin nor Brian Murray would never have treated him this way (maybe Brian Murray will find a good use for him in Ottawa — if they do, Go Senators!).
C. Huey is terrific, but he’s no Olie.
Ted,
I think a lot of fans are still waiting for an explanation of what happened. Can you explain why management didn’t give Olie the courtesy of a sit-down? This is really disappointing for the many of us who became fans because of Olie. Washington hasn’t been good to Olie, as GMGM so callously suggested. If anything, Olie deserved much better than Washington.