#1

Posted by OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki), May 7, 2008 11:53 AM

Tap of the stick to SpartyCuse for the initial heads up.

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#2

Posted by SpartyCuse, May 7, 2008 11:55 AM

I just thought....I wonder if he listed his condo in DC for sale. IIRC, I read a while back that he bought a condo a few blocks from the Verizon Center. He got it so he could go there on game days, and relax. Esp since its a haul from Potomac to DC with traffic.

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#3

Posted by vt caps fan, May 7, 2008 12:34 PM

Its a shade out of the price range... damn...

But seriously, its a sad day for this caps fan. As this guy is one of my sports heroes. I wish you the best of luck Olie the Goalie.

And whenever it happens, I'll be there to give you the proper respect you deserve when your number is in the rafters next to Hunters.

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#4

Posted by tacky, May 7, 2008 1:53 PM

why dont you list his social security as well. what is in his closet as well?

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#5

Posted by OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki), May 7, 2008 2:01 PM

@ tacky: Relax. The minor details provided are in a public real estate listing -- as in, anyone in the public could go look it up. It's hardly closet contents or SSN.

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#6

Posted by Jtinky, May 7, 2008 2:07 PM

I know I've been following this team for 32 years, and I plead guilty to looking at players through rose-colored glasses sometimes, but wasn't this a little bit quick? Was it so certain that the slump was permanent? It doesn't seem that long ago to me that Olie was standing on his head and keeping the boys in it. It just seems too fast to lose this guy. I sure hope George is handling this right although I know it takes more than one to make a deal.

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#7

Posted by OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki), May 7, 2008 2:16 PM

@ Jtinky: Olie has been the one constant for the Capitals the past decade as a vocal & steady leader -- no whining about wanting a trade (Witt, Jagr, and others too numerous to list), no slacking off, rarely injured, and a class act all the way.

I understand the team's decision to ride the hot hand with Huet, and it certainly seems to have paid off with the end-of-season run and in the playoffs. Kolzig's reaction is perfectly reasonable; the Caps' front office, from Leonsis to GMGM to Coach Boudreau and the rest, have repeatedly stated their respect for Kolzig. While this apparent ending has seemed more rushed than one would have predicted earlier in the year, I'm sure the organization will do right by Kolzig.

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#8

Posted by norske, May 7, 2008 2:17 PM

Sparty, if he has a condo downtown, isn't it possible it's leftover from the first post-lockout season? As I recall, he left his family at home in Washington state that season and lived by himself in an apartment downtown.

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#9

Posted by Scott in Shaw, May 7, 2008 2:18 PM

I can't tell you what's in his closet, but I can tell you that he has an Ovechkin bobblehead in his office.

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#10

Posted by zelda, May 7, 2008 2:25 PM

@Ordered Chaos

I sure hope you're right. There are tons of kids playing hockey today because they wanted to be like Olie.
I always admired the way he handled himself during the good times and bad.

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#11

Posted by Capsaholic, May 7, 2008 3:33 PM

How do we know that's Zilla's house?
Is someone stalking? ;-)

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#12

Posted by OlieBacker, May 7, 2008 3:38 PM

I have never read anywhere that GMGM or Uncle Ted have said that Olie is finished here. This seems like he is moving on on his own and not the team moving on without him. It is too quick for this Olie...take the for sale sign down please!

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#13

Posted by SpartyCuse, May 7, 2008 4:39 PM

If you go into the listing, you can look at pics of the home, and there are effects in there that clearly show its his home. Also, you can check PUBLIC records that show the address listed in the listing belongs to Olie

Also, if you go some googling, you find this snippet from TWP in 2006:

The veteran Capitals goalie and his wife celebrated his two-year contract extension by buying a 6,600-square-foot, two-fireplace home off River Road in Potomac recently. It's a trade-up from the Crownsville place they sold for $1 million just before the '04-05 lockout, when the now 36-year-old star went off to coach a junior team in Washington state and play in Germany. With a recent raise to $5.45 million a year, the highest-paid Cap shouldn't have trouble meeting that mortgage.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/realestate/features/2006/surrealestate/100406.html

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#14

Posted by SpartyCuse, May 7, 2008 4:43 PM

Norske:

I can vividly remember reading (either in TWP, or Hockey News, or somethere) a few years back, probably before Kettler, that Olie bought a condo near Verizon Center. It said he would go there on game days after the AM skate, to cut down on commuting. My parents even said they say him walking to the Verizon Center a few times on game days.

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#15

Posted by Bruce, May 7, 2008 5:48 PM

Keep in mind that the real estate market absolutely stinks right now (new numbers were released today, and the market slowed further on existing home sales). It will probably take quite some time for a property of this value to sell. If I knew that there was a chance I was not going to be back, I would list my home too. Obviously he knows that there is a high probability of not playing here, so he's trying to draw some interest in his home now. If GMGM has a change of heart and resigns him (or he cannot sign Huet or another solid starter), Olie can always yank it off the market.

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#16

Posted by OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki), May 7, 2008 5:53 PM

@ Bruce: Fair point -- the listing is by no means definitive evidence of his departure, and given the current housing market it could very well stay listed for a long time. It does underscore the likelihood that Kolzig will be elsewhere next season, something that hasn't been seriously considered in his career since Boston chose Jim Carey instead of Kolzig.

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#17

Posted by Mobsky, May 7, 2008 5:54 PM

Can someone link the listing?

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#18

Posted by oliefan, May 7, 2008 7:24 PM

here's the long and foster listing.

http://homes.longandfoster.com/Real-Estate/PropertyDetails.aspx?MlsCompanyID=2&MlsNumber=MC6746080&Add=9900-MERIDEN-RD,POTOMAC,MD-20854

here's the link for the virutal tour

http://www.homevisit.com/mlsTour/select/?id=32152

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#19

Posted by oliefan, May 7, 2008 7:25 PM

oops, forgot to add that the house is already under contract...

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#20

Posted by MulletMan, May 7, 2008 8:06 PM

I think that bathroom was bigger then my apartment when I lived in the District.

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#21

Posted by BrooklandCapsManiac, May 8, 2008 5:35 PM

Olie is running himself out of town because either 1) he is indignant that after a decade of unpredictable performance (and numberless soft early goals) he is being forced to compete for his job against a bona fide professional goaltender or 2) he is dejected because he knows that he can't compete against Huet. I believe both are true actually. He is dejected because his mediocre career is nearing its end. This sort of thing was only delayed by team loyalty. If he was being professional and cool about it I'd feel differently, but I don't. I'm mad because I had to experience heartsickness watching his bad goals for all these years, and he's acting like McPhee just sold him down the river for no reason. I just hope that he enjoys his last two pathetic seasons in the NHL trying to plug the Kings' holes. At least he'll have an excuse for all those softies in LA.

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#22

Posted by AAA, May 9, 2008 2:08 PM

Thanks for posting the listing. I respected him as a human being, but I'm sick & tired of these overpaid athletes.

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#23

Posted by U'ly F'ted Caps Fan, May 9, 2008 7:31 PM

Not to stoop to your levels but unable to resist the urge (at times like this it's obvious I started life as a Flyers Fan) @ Brookland Caps Maniac and AAA - Stop being A--es, seriously, Olie Kolzig won a Vezina Trophy and led his team to his Stanley Cup Finals - the pinnacle of his sport. His career has been anything but mediocre and as for being an "overpaid athlete" how is he overpaid, I guess all entertainers are overpaid in your mind AAA as are probably just about everybody else who makes more than you. Finally in addition to being an excellent Goalie over his career, he is a great role model and a generous, valued member of the DC area. I'm sas to see him go, yes it is professional sports, etc. and I'm not second guessing the Coach or GM in these matters, but you irrational attacks on the person of Olie Kolzig are NOT AT ALL DESERVED and you are both acting like class-less dolts.

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#24

Posted by OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki), May 9, 2008 8:39 PM

@ U'ly:
There are times, in the sport we all love, that it's appropriate to drop the gloves. U'ly, you've dropped the gloves at the perfect time. Well said.

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#25

Posted by Caps-fan, May 13, 2008 10:03 AM

I think I'll stop over him home & shake his hand !!!

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