Capitals Play a Different Kind of "Dump and Chase"

Did you ever break up with a girl, because someone else you were interested in was single? Did you chase that other girl who was now single only to be told “I’m not ready for a relationship right now” and then see her on a date with someone else less than a week after she shot you down? Now the girl you dumped has rebounded nicely into a new relationship and won’t return your phone calls and you are sitting at home alone.

That’s what the goaltending situation feels like in Washington.

Olaf Kolzig was an institution in Washington when the Capitals picked up Cristobal Huet. The net practically had Olie’s name on it. We had a chance to pick up Huet for cheap and he shared the net (Olie’s net) with Godzilla, the fan favorite.

Huet made some spectacular saves and everyone saw a net-minder controversy brewing. Olie kept quiet and did his job, even though he saw the writing on the wall. Huet was in, he would soon be out.

The Caps had been drafting goaltenders every year for the past five years. It was only a matter of time before they either relegated his 38-year-old frame to the bench or the waiver-wire, and Huet was going to accelerate that process. He was just a little bit better, and a little bit younger, but every bit the threat to Olie’s job security.

When the net sharing stopped just short of the playoffs, and Olie didn’t get so much as a look in any of the playoff games, the final straw had been laid and the camel would never be the same…Olie was done.

He cleaned out his locker of 17 years, put his house up on the market, and was ready to go wherever the market took him. The Capitals were sad to see him go in such an undignified manner, but they were eager to sign Huet.

The problems with the Huet negotiations seemed to start early in the offseason when Huet’s agent described the talks as “productive and well-intentioned.”

The negotiations stalled as Huet’s agent stated they wanted to wait and see what free-agency had to offer.

Even though the Caps supposedly met Huet’s offer, he jumped ship for Chicago on the first day of free-agency\ and Kolzig is on his way to Tampa Bay.

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