Morning Roundup: Goodbye, Abe Edition
D.C. Police Seek Suspect in Series of Bank Robberies
Suspect in 9-Year-Old's Murder Found Dead in D.C. Jail
Photo of the Day: November 25, 2009
Ballou HS Rocks the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
In an interview yesterday, discussing the state of goalie development in Russian hockey, Caps superstar Alexander Ovechkin optimistically announced that Caps goaltending prospect Semen Varlamov will remain in Russia this year, playing with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. This contradicted Ovechkin's earlier optimistic prediction that Varlamov would challenge Olaf Kolzig for the starting job in Washington, which in turn contradicted Varlamov's earlier announcement that he planned to play for Lokomotiv this year.
Goalies take longer to develop than other players, so there was never much doubt that Varlamov would end up in Russia this year. The story is just a positive example of Ovechkin getting excited about the future of the Capitals. Earlier this summer, NHL MVP Sidney Crosby signed a relatively cheap long-term contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, saying that he liked his teammates and wanted to see everybody stick together for a long time. It would be great if Ovechkin felt the same way about the Capitals, since he could otherwise become a restricted free agent next summer.
Meanwhile, the Capitals have a chance to impress Ovechkin with what a great team the Capitals are right now, but they may have a hard time doing that with their current goaltending situation. Olaf Kolzig won the Vezina Trophy in 2000 as the best goalie in the NHL. Since then he's suffered several different knee injuries and celebrated his 37th birthday. In the injured Kolzig's absence, Brent Johnson and Frederic Cassivi looked decidedly unheroic last year.
While we reported optimistically that Johnson played like a boxer being paid to take a dive, we're not positive that his "A" game is that much better. Should the Capitals wish to bring in a stronger backup, Mikka Noronen, Robert Esche, Ed Belfour and Curtis Joseph are all unrestricted free agents. Noronen could be the best fit of the bunch, since he is also Russian and could help teach Varlamov next year.
Olaf Kolzig has spent years as the public face of the Washington Capitals. He's been with the team since the owner was just a fan. His Caps tenure might be longer than those of every other player on this fall's opening roster put together. He's taken the team to the Stanley Cup Finals and the fans shout his name every time he makes a save. Why would the Capitals consider replacing such a marvelous local institution? As their superstar of the future pointed out, in his current condition, a nineteen year old could do a better job of playing goalie.
Still, not all is lost for the Capitals. There may be a chance to develop goaltending talent from within. Viktor Kozlov, signed as a free agent this summer after playing forward for the New York Islanders was asked on Monday whether he prefers to play center or right wing. Ever versatile, Kozlov replied, "I can even play in goal, if Coach Hanlon decides to risk that." Get ready, Vik. You never know.
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I had no idea there were goalies of that caliber still available. Dump the 2 losers, get one of the free agents and have Olie and the acquisition get this team rolling again. I wonder if anyone else will comment on this, seeing that it is about hockey...but thanks for your continued posts on the Caps! It's always a pleasant surprise.
Mika Noronen is actually Finnish, he just played in russia the last year.
Yeah, Kolzig is awful. A .910 Regular Season SV% tying him for 17th for all goalies last year. A 19 year old who has never played a single game in a North Amercian rink is definately good thinking. I think Ovechkin is just supporting a fellow Russian and not saying Kolzig is not still capable.