Netminder Kolzig leaving NHL Capitals after 17 years: report

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Olaf Kolzig, a goaltender for the Washington Capitals for 17 years, will leave the National Hockey League team after being benched for French netminder Cristobal Huet late this season.

Kolzig told the Washington Post that he was unhappy when Huet, obtained from the Montreal Canadiens in a late-season trade, was made the number one puck-stopper during the Capitals' unlikely late-season run to the NHL playoffs.

"For me, it was disappointing the way it ended," Kolzig told the newspaper. "It's unfortunate because they have a good team here now. Not to be a part of that is going to be tough, especially after 17 years and three years of what we went through post-lockout."

South African-born Kolzig, set to become a free agent, led the Capitals to...