Olaf Kolzig Retires: "Olie The Goalie"

Another very good hockey player we will no longer see. Olaf Kolzig AKA "Olie The Goalie" has announced his retirement today on Septmber 23rd, 2009. Kolzig who is 39. Was drafted in 1989 with the 19th overall pick. He appeared in games over 16 seasons for the Washington Capitals and finished his career up with Tampa Bay and Toronto last year. He played in 719 games since his first NHL game in 1989-90 and finished with a record of 303-297-63. He had 35 career shutouts and an overall 2.71 GGA.

He was the first South African-born player to be drafted to the NHL. He was born in Africa but both his parents were german and that is why he played for team Germany during the Olympics. He was the backbone of the Capitals for alot of years. And he to me will always stand out as one of the 5 best Capitals players in their franchise history. Maybe they will give him respect and retire his number there.

Kolzig, has mad many accomplishments among them. Kolzig helped Washington to the NHL finals in 1998 and two seasons later posted a 41-20-11 record with five shutouts and a 2.24 goals against average en route to an All-Star team berth and the Vezina Trophy. He appeared in 2 all star games in 1998 and 2000. Kolzig gave opposing teams problems on many nights. The capitals used to give up alot of shots and he was always there to answer the call. He had 2 seasons with high Save 91.9 and 91.7 percent. I hope this article gave Olie the Goalie his due.

NHL Band-Aid Boy List 2009-10

1. Marian Gaborik- Is the most talented on this list. But also the most risky. When he plays he puts up outstanding numbers. Now on the Rangers he can finally be free and play offense and become the force he was to be. But held back by the defensive coach Jacques Lemaire.

2.Alexander Semin- He can score goals with the best of them. But then he can go on a complete 2 week cold streak or an injury. He is very talented and is very quick. He had more goals than Ovechkin his teammate after the fist 20 games last year.

3.Martin Havlat- Had his first healthy year with the chicago last season. Now he is playing on the Wild. No Gaborik... At least there is new coaches that don't only care about defenese and traps. Still has some good years left if he can remain healthy. Havlat is still capable of putting up around 35 Goals.

4.Sheldon Souray- He has had 26 and 23 goals in his last 2 healthy seasons. But in the past injuries seemed to plague him. And his physical play does nothing to help. He is an all star d man that can hit, fight and score 20+. Not many can do that. He is well worth the risk.

5.Daniele Briere- Now into his 30's Daniel Briere is reverting back to his early phoenix days when he was always hurt. He had some healthy seasons on the Sabres. But has been nothing but hurt since going to the Flyers. When healthy he is a very good forward capable of getting 70+ points.

6.Cristobal Huet- He seems to lose his job wherever he goes. Uhh Hum he seems like a Martin Gerber with only way better stats and more injury prone. When he is hot he will help win you weeks. He seems to be more streaky then anything.

7.Pascal Leclaire- He had 9 shutouts in 07-08, which was one behind Lundqvist for the league lead. Doing this on a non-playoff Blue Jackets team. He only played in 12 games last year and was on IR for the whole season. He then was traded to the Senators at the trade deadline. He has a chance to rebound, and so does the Senators.

8.Tim Connolly- This faceoff winning playmaker seems to never stay off the injury report. It is ashame, we will never really know the skills and numbers he might of put up. He is only 27 so take a chance on him if nobody has him.


9.Kari Lehtonen- Still young, but the Thrashers have all offensife D-men. His stats were never good and I do not see them getting better on that team. A change of scenery like when Luongo went from the Panthers to the Canucks, can benefit Lehtonen and his numbers. Beware he just had back surgery.

10.Joni Pitkanen- had 40+ points back to back seasons. But injuries slowed his development down a little. He just turned 26 years old. Although I do not think he is capable of scoring at the pace he did when he had 13 goals in 58 games in 2005-2006. He is well worth having on a fantasy team and has good years left in that young body.

What in the Kessel's goin' on

What is going with Boston. Like what are they smoking on? This is the same team that traded a top player in Joe Thorton away for a bag of chips and a used tire. They opted to re sign David Krejci over Phil Kessel. The reason I say over him. Is because they know by signing Krejci they would not have enough money to re-sign Kessel unless they unloaded salary. If you are the Bruins, why in the hell would you do that?

You already have playmaker\assist guys in Marc Savard, Patrice Bergeron ad Krecji. Why would you let the only sniper on your team get away like that? Because the same teams do the same stupid things. This kid would of had 40 goals last year had he not missed any games. He is only 21 years old. He battled cancer at 18. And if you look at stats every year he has gotten better. With last year finally being the year where he showed where his potential might take him one day.

This kid has a chance to score 50 in a season within the next 7-8 years of his prime. I do not see anyone else on the Bruins even capable of getting 35. The only two on the team with the ability to score is off and on again Michael Ryder. Along with Milan Lucic which isn't saying much, considering he had 17 goals. But the potential is there. With that said the Bruins should of did everything they could of to keep their young goal scorer.

Now another team will sign him to an offer sheet or make a trade for him. And they will get to enjoy the glory years of Phil Kessels career. The Bruins have a cup contending team. But will never win it, because of the stupid decisions their upper managament makes. The three teams I hear most about getting him are the St. Louis Blues, Toronto MapleLeafs and the Nashville Predators. I think the Blues have the best chance of getting him. They have some good prospects to give up. If the blues were smart they would make an offer sheet. They know the bruins can't match. And why would they care about losing a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick. When they already stocked with prospects.

He would fit well with Andy McDonald feeding him the puck or even with David Perron. He would be so perfect along with the other youngster on the Blues growing up together. The Leafs and Preadtors need him more then the blues. THey have no offensive threat on their teams. And they should be willing to sacrifice the house to land him.

Fantasy Impact: Phil Kessel might be out till November recovering from off season surgery. If you are in a keeper league. You should have a good bench Forward to put in for a while. When Kessel returns no matter what team he is on. Look for him to be the main guy to put the puck in the net. Look for his stats to be similar to last seasons. Only because he will have a slow start when he first comes back. If Kessel did play in 82 games this year. I would of had him penciled in at 41 Goals and 70 points. 1 Year league advice is to not take him in the first 5 rounds. IF you can get him after that round it would be a steal. He might miss 12-16 games. People will avoid picking him because of that. Which will cause him to slip down and fall right into your lap.

Heatley finally traded to the Sharks

The San Jose Sharks made the big move that has been expected ever since their best regular season ended with a first-round playoff exit, acquiring disgruntled winger Dany Heatley from the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

The Sharks gave up Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second-round pick to acquire Heatley, who had been involved in a lingering dispute with the Senators because he felt he was not being properly used by the team.

"It was tough. It wasn't the greatest summer. No question," Heatley said in a conference call Saturday. "I'm relieved and excited to be going to San Jose."

Ottawa also sent San Jose a fifth-round draft pick. The long-rumored trade came on the opening day of training camp for Ottawa and ends a clash that has overshadowed the Senators in recent months.

"I talked to Dany yesterday and he was adamant that he wanted to be moved and we felt based on that, more than anything, that we should get the value that we could get for him and move on," Senators general manager Brian Murray said.

The 28-year-old Heatley signed a $45-million, six-year contract extension less than two years ago with the Senators. But he said he wanted out of Ottawa because he wasn't being used properly. He then angered fans when he refused to waive a no-trade clause to move to Edmonton.

MY OPINION: The sharks got a major steal. Getting rid of 3.5 MIL of a stiff in Cheechoo's contract. Michalek is an alright player, but has never proven to be a 1st liner. And he is also making around 3.5 MIL. So to trade them two with a 2nd rounder to get a two time 50-50 guy is a major rip off. I find it hard to believe that is all they could of gotten.