Olie!!!!!

DCs longest tenured athlete is going to hit the road. We all knew it was going to happen but it hits hard when you actually look at it in print. I am never going to argue that the Caps needed to keep him, I think his time has come. Huet needs to be signed to a three year deal to mind the net while our minor leaguers are maturing. He should be the bridge between our sad sack past and our bright future. But the most consistent positive thing amongst all the things that have befallen the Caps over the last nineteen years has been Olie the Goalie.

What were you doing in 1989? Olie Kolzig was getting drafted. Think of all of DC's sports figures since then. We were still 16 years away from getting the Nationals. Joe Gibbs hadn't retired yet, not even once; in fact he had another Super Bowl in him. The Wizards were still the Bullets. Saying "major league soccer" would have confused a lot of people. Hell, Brett Favre hadn't even been drafted yet. Think of what has come, took a look at the monuments and split since then; Jagr, Neon Deion, Jordan, Gonchar, Shuler, Kwame Brown. Now Jagr is a turncoat Ranger, Deion is the most consistent because he is still a horse's ass, Jordan is head boss elsewhere, Gonchar has been supplanted by Mike Green as best offensive defenseman in the world, Shuler is being groomed for a future presidential run, and Kwame Brown is, well...... Kolzig has watched them all come and go while minding the crease at the Caps Center and then MCI; oh I mean Verizon.

I just want to thank Olie for everything, most importantly that Cup run back in 98 which was the high water mark of the franchise thus far. It feels weird talking about hockey in May because it has been so long in this town. However, I'm already looking forward to opening day for the Caps. We are going to get to lift the pennant to the rafters for winning the Southeast and I think they should hoist it a little higher than the other Southeasts and Patrick division winners because it was probably the sweetest. That should be the appetizer. Right after, we should lift number 37 to the rafters. Not any higher that Langway, Labre or "da Hunta," but as soon as possible. Like Dale da Hunter, Olie is one of the few guys I would be happy to see lift the Cup, even if he is not wearing a Caps sweater.