I am glad last night is over and happy we got the win and the two points.
I have received several emails on a couple of subjects so I will answer them here in a public fashion.
Question #1: Why did we do a video tribute to Kolzig?
Answer: He was probably the most beloved player in our franchise history and he was a fan icon. We felt he deserved this one of a kind tribute. And we have and will continue to take the high road in all matters.
Question #2: Why didn’t the tribute happen before the game?
Answer: We don’t program Tampa’s locker room and with Olie playing against us, it would be bad form to bring an opposing player out before the game. Tampa and Olie wouldn’t allow it anyway.
Question #3: Why did we run the tribute video when we did?
Answer: We program game presentations 24 hours ahead of time. We chose to show the tribute video at the first official timeout – 14 minutes in - regardless of the score.
As I stated, we paid homage to Olie and we got a win.
End of story. Time to move on now on this subject. We will NOT do anything else regarding Olie while he plays for another team. We play Tampa five more times this season. We must focus on our present and future and we need to amass as many points as possible within our division.
Thanks for all of your emails. No more comments from me regarding a player on another team. I hope you all understand. Go Caps!
It was a classy move, as always. Go Red!
Olie deserved that moment of recognition, a different colored jersey does not make him any less of a friend to all of us in DC. Emotions ran so high at the end of our ill-fated playoff run last season that we were never really given a good opportunity to say ‘THANKS’ to Olie. And with the tribute, I think we finally got our chance.
It is business at this point, but I surely hope that when the time comes, the CAPS (and Olie) can find room in their hearts and the payroll to put Olie where he belongs after he hangs up the pads, on the coaching staff.
I appreciated the video tribute, and could care less when it came. The fact is, it was a class move by the organization and keep up the good work.
That was absolutely, positively, without question, the correct thing to do.
Olie was with the Caps for more than half of his life, and more than half of the Capitals’ history. He deserved to be welcomed back, and shown that Washington fans respect and admire him for more than just the color of his uniform. I have never heard the opponent’s starting lineup cheered like it was last night.
Giving Olie a moment of respect was an act of sportsmanship and goodwill by the Caps the likes of which are hard to come by in modern American sport. Kolzig’s departure was a sad parting, and this was an honorable way to officially turn the page.
Now comes the hard part. As much as we love Olie as a person, as much as we respect him for all he’s done for hockey in Washington, and as well as we all should have wished him on his departure, he is now our opponent, and needs to be regarded as such. When the Bolts come back to town on New Year’s Day, we have to be able to catcall Olie if the occasion arises. It’s going to be very, very hard for a lot of fans to do that, but we must. It’s not personal–it’s just hockey.
It was a fine tribute to a great player and an even better human being. I know there were some issues with his departure, but misunderstandings happen on both sides, and in the end the bridges will be mended, I’m sure, especially with both the Caps and Olie taking the high road.
I have no doubt that #37 will never be worn by another Capital and it will hang up there in the rafters with 5, 7, 32 and soon 11 (and likely 12).
Best of luck to Olie, and Let’s go Caps!
great game last night.enough said.
I thought it was well done. In the NHL of today, there are a lot of players who have passed through the Caps organization at one time or another. Olie is a bit of a unique case – as the Post article yesterday noted, he’s played the longest in a Washington sports team uniform other than Darrell Green, and he’s done a lot for the community. There’s no requirement you recognize a player for their contributions to your team when they’re playing for another team and the tribute the Caps did last night was classy and respectful. The timing was known in advance, as Mike Wise’s article in yesterday’s Post referenced it correctly.
I have no doubt that the organization will appropriately recognize Olaf Kolzig when he finally retires from hockey and the fans will welcome him back to the Capitals family even more warmly than they did last night. As the video tribute said, “Always a Capital.” Right now, though, he’s playing for a division rival, and today’s team did what they had to do to get two points. I was sorry to see Olie have a bad first period, but far happier to see the Caps get two points.
Olaf Kolzig is a great human being and a class act. Business didn’t work out between him and the Caps, but both have taken the high road, which is in short supply these days. A tip of the hat to Kolzig and the Capitals.
ted—-I guess being an open owner subjects you to bonafide opinions and also unfortunately, to what I perceive to be ridiculous and picky criticism. To give some fans the benefit of the doubt, perhaps they did not realize that the timing of the video tribute was pre-arranged and locked in, and maybe some fans felt bad for olie because the tribute occurred shortly after the 2 goals were scored.
however, to think that some fringe fans are truly upset because there was a short tribute to olie, is preposterous. simply put, how many successful professional athletes stay with a predominately unsuccessful and medicare team in a city that really did not care for hockey (sorry, but until now this is accurate} for as along as olie was a cap. moreover his contributions off the ice were even more impressive, in fact deservedly earning the nhl’s highest award for community service.
well done ted—congrads to you, your organization and olie