Excerpt from Washington Post:
Kolzig does not feel as if he’s done playing hockey. In fact, he has resumed training for next season and plans to approach the offseason as if he is going to play. And if the right situation were to present itself — joining a contender is high among his priorities — he would return for a 17th NHL season.
Check out the article: A Net Loss for Capitals
Habster:
The writing was on the wall for Olaf Kolzig’s departure out of Washington after George McPhee acquired Cristobal Huet from the Canadiens at the trade deadline. Kolzig announcement doesn’t come as a huge surprise and was probably expected for a very proud pro like him.
Regardless if McPhee takes advantage of the allotted time (before the July 1st UFA deadline) to re-sign Huet to a contract extension, it will have no bearing on Kolzig’s decision as the Capitals and Kolzig seem set on their choices to move in other directions.
With that being said, wouldn’t it make a lot of sense from a Canadiens (or should I say Bob Gainey’s) perspective to gauge Olaf Kolzig’s interest in signing a contract to be Carey Price’s mentor, to have a proven NHL veteran as his back up in case of injury or if Price has some sophomore bumps next season.
I realize the Canadiens have a solid back up in Jaroslav Halak who can step up and play well behind Carey Price but he doesn’t have Kolzig’s 17 years of NHL experience to help tutor Price when things get tough. If the Habs can persuade Kolzig to sign a contract then it would give Gainey other options to obtain a big scoring winger or a big center. Halak could be packaged with other players to acquire these much needed commodities.
Kolzig and Price have a history together when Carey played for Kolzig’s Tri-City Americans of the WHL (he played for Tri-City and is part owner of the junior team) for three years. Kolzig acted as Price’s mentor back then and at times, his goaltending coach. He helped Price on and off the ice and was a very steadying influence throughout his three years at Tri-City.
Excerpt from NHL.com (NHL.com – In The System):
“He (Kolzig) helped me a lot on and off the ice. He gave me a lot of technical advice,” said Price, who felt just by being around Kolzig on a consistent basis gave him valuable insight. “I also learned a lot about being competitive from him, you can learn a lot about being an athlete just by watching one.”
The only question that has to be asked is whether Kolzig wants to play second fiddle to Carey Price and if Gainey/Carbonneau can guarantee him enough playing time to satisfy Kolzig while not jeopardizing the development of Carey Price.
It’s a delicate balancing act which would be difficult to achieve but is definitely worth pursuing from the Canadiens’ point of view. Gainey would be foolish not to open some type of dialogue with Olaf Kolzig to see if he had any interest. It would give the Canadiens another solid acquisition towards winning the Stanley Cup in their centennial year.
I see the logic of your suggestion Habster, but I’m hoping that Gainey says no thanks.
Kolzig still believes that he can be a #1 goalie with a contender. Kolzig would demand a huge payday. I can’t imagine him being content with starting 20 games and watching Price get 60 starts. And would that be good value for the Canadiens? Fewer starts for Price would hamper his development. Price has a coach and mentor and thats Mellanson. Halak is a very capable backup. The only missing piece in the Canadiens goaltending equation is a head coach who knows how to use his players properly and in a way that instills confidence.
I liked Gainey’s comment at the season end news conference, “I’ve defined our goaltending how its going to be”, and presumably that means Carey Price and Jaro Halak for the foreseeable future.
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