Goalie was 17-year NHL vet and holds Caps record for wins
It came as no surprise when longtime Capitals goalie Olie Kolzig announced his retirement on Wednesday. The 39-year-old had fought through a painful hip injury for the better part of two years and realized this summer that it was time to call it quits.
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Kolzig was the face of the Caps’ franchise for a decade starting in 1997 when he finally became the full-time starter after eight years bouncing between the minors and the NHL. He was a two-time All-Star, won the Vezina Trophy in 2000 as the league’s top netminder and led the Caps to their only Stanley Cup finals appearance in 1998. It wasn’t a Hall-of-Fame career. But when Kolzig was on top of his game he was one of the best.
His career in Washington ended on a sour note, of course. The team traded for goalie Cristobal Huet late in the 2007-08 season and Kolzig watched the final seven games of the regular season and a playoff series against Philadelphia from the bench. The Caps then chose not to renew his contract after the season ended.
“My fondest memories in the NHL are obviously in Washington. I played just a few months in Tampa and never even reported to Toronto after the trade there,” Kolzig said. “The way things ended [with the Caps] has been talked about a lot already. Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish my career there. But that’s all water under the bridge now. It’s not something I think about anymore. Everyone in this city treated me and my family so well for so many years. That what I’ll remember.”
Kolzig signed last summer with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he played in just eight games before a torn biceps tendon ended his season. Kolzig was later traded to Toronto in a minor deal, but was never healthy enough to play for the Maple Leafs. A February surgery fixed the biceps. But it was the left hip injury that convinced Kolzig he was done with the NHL.
“To play I had to have constant treatment on [the hip] or it would stiffen up,” Kolzig said. “So my body told me it was time to look to the future and try other things. I never wanted to be a player that had to be told it was over or that I was hanging around for too long. I want to be able to play with my kids and walk around without pain when I’m 45. It was time.”
Don’t expect to see Kolzig coaching any time soon. He had to fight early in his career to retain a fiery temper in goal. But that edge never completely left him and Kolzig doesn’t think that would translate behind the bench.
“I just know my personality and my patience probably wouldn’t be the best,” Kolzig said. “I’m in the business side with the junior hockey team [the Tri-City Americans] where I’m part-owner. I think eventually I’d like to get into management – at what level I’m not sure. I’d also really like to get into broadcasting at some point. I think that’s something that I’d really enjoy.”
Kolzig was the 19th overall pick in the 1989 NHL draft. But it took him eight years to ascend to the full-time starting job with the Caps in 1997. His brilliant play in the playoffs that season helped Washington to the Stanley Cup finals, where it lost to Detroit in four games. Kolzig had four shutouts that postseason and a 1.95 goals-against average.
Kolzig’s best year was in 1999-2000 when he posted 41 wins, five shutouts and was awarded the Vezina Trophy – only the second Caps goalie to be so honored. He played in 711 career games with Washington and holds the
franchise record for wins (301), save percentage (.906), minutes (41,259), saves (18,013) and shutouts (35). His 303 career wins – two came with the Lightening last season – ranks 21st all-time among NHL goalies.
Kolzig’s final few seasons were rough, however. The Caps blew up their roster in 2004 through a series of trades and the team finished with a dismal 59 points. Kolzig did his best to keep the Caps competitive when they returned from the NHL lockout, only to see them finish with 70 points two straight years. By the time the talent level rose to an acceptable level his time with the club was almost over.
“It’s always a difficult thing when you skate out there and there’s a crowd of 10,000 people. It was tough to go through and – at the time anyway – you start to wonder if the fans will ever come back,” Kolzig said. “But I also knew this city. The Redskins have so much support and maybe they can get away with not putting out a winning team every year. But for everyone else, if you win they’ll be here. And we saw that when I was still there two years ago and even more last year with the sea of red. It had happened before. It was just a sea of white in my day.”
So for now – until a management or broadcasting opportunity comes along – Kolzig has time on his hands – “I feel like a high school senior again,” he cracked. So he’ll be a full-time dad. His son, Carson, 8, is doing well at a school for autistic children in the Tampa area. And the family, including wife, Christin, and daughters, Kendall and Ashlyn, will still spend time in Kennewick, Wash., where he’s long made his offseason home.
“Olie was the face of the Capitals franchise for years, on the ice, in the locker room and around Washington, D.C.,” said Caps owner Ted Leonsis in a statement. “He was a great Capital and the organization and our fans will always have fond memories of ‘Olie the Goalie.’”
