#1

Posted by Stella, July 4, 2008 9:21 AM

Yes, but only AFTER Bondra's is retired. Or perhaps a dual ceremony?

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#2

Posted by Ryan, July 4, 2008 9:53 AM

Yes, without a doubt. He was with this franchise for almost 20 years, and is one of our greatest players in franchise history, and his efforts in the community have been a wonderful thing.

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#3

Posted by Mike in SF, July 4, 2008 10:06 AM

You're missing the option I would have picked -- "Yes, this season."

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#4

Posted by J.P., July 4, 2008 10:12 AM

Franchise leader in seasons, goalie games played, minutes, wins, losses, ties, shutouts, save percentage, shots faced and saves made (as well as goalie assists!) = retire the jersey.

But can we un-retire #7?

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#5

Posted by Grooven, July 4, 2008 11:08 AM

Cripes, the guy's still playing and you're already planning a retirement party?

Perhaps, but I will not make a decision nor take more than cursory part in the topic which shouldn't even be a considered action until a minimum five years after a player (any player) retires.

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#6

Posted by Hoagie, July 4, 2008 11:42 AM

If I remember correctly, the Caps couldn't retire Bondra's number this year because he wasn't "officially retired." Don't know if it is club policy or NHL policy, but either way, Kolzig's number won't get retired until he retires.

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#7

Posted by CapsChick, July 4, 2008 12:21 PM

@Grooven:

Well, he did move to Florida...you can see how people would be confused ;)

And yes. When he retires there's no question in my mind that his number will go up and should go up. Like JP pointed out, that many franchise records alone should get your jersey in the rafters.

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#8

Posted by OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki), July 4, 2008 12:33 PM

@ CapsChick: Ha! Nicely done. :)

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#9

Posted by just retire, July 4, 2008 12:40 PM

"When he retires there’s no question in my mind that his number(s) will go up and should go up"

for a second, I thought you were talking about his stats going up when he retires. haha, that would have been funny but oh well.

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#10

Posted by Don't Do It, July 4, 2008 3:42 PM

Let's get some Cup banners in the rafters before we retire any numbers. Teams that begin to retire numbers without Cups begin to look foolish. I don't care how valuable he was, he never won a Cup. I am up for taking all three retired numbers down.

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#11

Posted by nic, July 4, 2008 5:02 PM

J.P. asks: But can we un-retire #7?

Ok, somebody else made the same comment on CapChick's blog. Not to distract from the Kolzig discussion, but why such animosity toward Yvon's retired jersey? Without Yvon, the Caps might not have survived the 70's in this town, and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

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#12

Posted by Victor, July 4, 2008 8:56 PM

That's the second time I've seen someone suggest "un-retiring" Yvan's number, with no explanation.

So, I'm asking JP (and anyone else who feels the same way): Why do you feel #7 should be un-retired?

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#13

Posted by Scott, July 4, 2008 9:35 PM

I said I don't know. I'll say yes unless he lights it up for tampa bay and ousts us from the playoffs, or if he acts like a jerk about anything.

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#14

Posted by pepper, July 5, 2008 1:21 AM

I was far too young to appreciate Labre's play, and I presume that the argument for "un-retiring" his number (if its a serious attempt at beginning a discussion) is based upon his paucity of points earned in his career (and GP too) and that his teams weren't so special either (except especially abysmal).

But really a team should be able to retire a player's number for any good reason. He seemed to be the face of the franchise in the 1970's and intimately connected with the team's community efforts and youth hockey promotion, I think, since day one. So that's a good enough reason to me. He did also begin the Capitals tradition of solid "defensive" defensemen.

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#15

Posted by Scotty Hockey, July 5, 2008 3:08 AM

While I would say that retiring Bondra's 12 may be debatable (not even a point per game, and if you do him, then you should get Mike Gartner too), I would have to say an absolute yes to Ollie the Goalie. Ollie carried an average team to the Cup Finals, won a Vezina and stood strong for years with no support. Not to mention all of his charity work ... The Rangers are retiring Adam Graves this coming season not just because of his work in 1994, but because he epitomized everything that a Ranger should be in terms of character, heart, desire and personality. From afar, it seemed like Ollie was that for the Caps. I hope that one day he is honoured as such.

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#16

Posted by b.orr4, July 5, 2008 10:52 AM

The Canadiens have an unwritten rule that they don't have more jersies retired than they have Stanley Cup banners. I think the Caps would be wise to follow that guideline. However, I wouldn't object to the unretiring of Yvon Labre's jersey. Everytime I see that in the rafters I cringe.

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#17

Posted by b.orr4, July 5, 2008 10:55 AM

Forgot to add that if you really need to retire a number, how about starting with #11. He's actually in the Hall of Fame.

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#18

Posted by Victor, July 5, 2008 1:31 PM

Everytime I see that in the rafters I cringe.
Any particular reason why?

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#19

Posted by Jimmy Jazz, July 5, 2008 4:04 PM

@Don't Do It
I think that's a valid point. It not so much foolish as it is cheeky; we're not exactly the most storied franchise.

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#20

Posted by b.orr4, July 5, 2008 8:51 PM

@Victor-Because Labre's no more deservces to have his number retired than Kelly Miller or Craig Laughlin and maybe even less. Having his number hanging next to Hunter's and Langway's dimishes what it means to get your number retired. Yvon is a heck of nice guy, but his jersey is ganging solely because Abe Pollin liked him and had little to do with what he accomplished on the ice.

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#21

Posted by exwhaler, July 6, 2008 12:49 AM

Yvon was the heart and soul of the Capitals in the 1970s--ask any fan from that era. A guy like Labre--somebody whose importance to a franchise transends his stats--does not have any other way to be honored other than having his numbered retired by the team he served.

It's also the *only* reason why Kolzig's number will be retired. He's not a Hall-of-Famer, and he's the franchise leader at his position because the Capitals have never had a legit, elite goalie for a decent period of time. But what he means to the Capitals transends what he did on the ice.

In my mind, it's the very reason why you retire numbers. Which is why you won't see Hall-of-Famer Mike Gartner's number retired.

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#22

Posted by Nic, July 6, 2008 11:40 AM

@exwhaler: Well said!

Speaking as a fan from that era, the "unretire 7" chorus has really been bothering me.

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#23

Posted by Schultz for Norris, July 11, 2008 5:28 PM

I do think his number should be retired, but given the way that things went down at the end, we need to soil the number a bit and allow Aucoin to wear it next season. When Olie retires, Aucoin can change, but he'll likely be gone by then anyway.

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