With last night's win -- his 300th as an NHL goaltender -- Olaf Kolzig joins some select company...
You'll note that 10 of the 23 goaltenders on this list are in the Hall of Fame. Of the six yet active goaltenders, four -- Brodeur, Belfour (currently playing in Europe), Joseph, and Hasek -- are virtual locks for induction when eligible. Chris Osgood has been a member of two Stanley Cup winners and has a Jennings Trophy on his resume. He hs six 30-win seasons, but no 40-win campaigns. Kolzig has taken his team to a Stanley Cup final and has a Vezina Trophy on his mantle. He has five 30-win seasons and a 40-win year.
He could pass Richter and Broda in wins this year, with an outside shot at passing Smith to crack the top-20 (the question being one of how many starts he gets in the last 11 games). If he returns for the 2008-2009 season, he could perhaps pass Burke and Lumley.
No matter...for a guy who waited more than five years after being drafted for his first win (January 27, 1995 -- against the Islanders) and nine years to become the number one goalie for the Caps, for a guy who ranks fourth in career wins among goalies having played for a single team, he has had a remarkable career characterized by skill and fierce determination. He is an icon in Washington sports --for his work both on and off the ice -- deserving of all the respect and good wishes that come with his achievement.
Congratulations, Olie, on #300...and here's to lots more before you hang up your mask.
I find it very interesting, especially in light of the trade deadline saga, that only 4 of the goalies on that list spent their entire careers with one team.
ReplyDeletePeerless,
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get that list? I can't find any such source for stats like that.
Also, is there an updated list of all time leading Caps scorers. Wikipedia only has the top 10 overall and I wouldn't mind charting Ovie's rise up the Caps rankings.
thanks
Dave
Ha!.... look at Sean Burke's teams.
ReplyDeleteDave...I found it doing a search on NHL 300 game winners and came up with an ESPN site. It was from a couple of years ago, I think, so I had to update the data to reflect current totals.
ReplyDeleteThanks Peerless,
ReplyDeleteAny idea about where I can find an up to date list of Caps all times scorers. Even if it was how they stood at the start of this season, I don't mind bringing it up to date myself.
I see people mention things like "Ovie is XXth on the list and needs XX points to catch XX", just would like to be able to follow it more closely myself.
I've looked for that from time to time myself...I haven't found one. I might have tocompile it from the information in the media guide.
ReplyDeleteSomeone must have it somewhere as it gets mentioned each time Ovie hits another milestone.
ReplyDeleteIf you do ever get round to compiling it I've be really grateful if you could post it.
Cheers
Dave