Is Olie the Goalie a
keeper?
Posted: Fri June 5,
1998
Sports Illustrated hockey writer Kostya Kennedy will answer
your
NHL questions through the Stanley Cup
Finals. Click here to send a
question.
So the Washington Capitals have made it. What a sweet and
hoary crew they are. From graybeard captain Dale Hunter to
such creaking newcomers as Esa Tikkanen and Brian Bellows,
this aging cast has outlasted a conference full of
ebullient youths. The Caps
beat the energetic Bruins, the pesky Senators, and then, to
my surprise, the sprightly Sabres. I'm glad to see Adam
Oates with a chance at the Cup, and overall this old bunch
has become quite a likable and resourceful team. Now the
Caps can rest a bit
before the chance of their lifetime comes Tuesday night. How
they fare will, of course, depend largely on goalie Olaf
Kolzig. He certainly looked strong matching saves with
Dominik Hasek, and he's been the team's backbone all year.
Is this the start of a
long and outstanding career? Let's go to your questions to
address that further
...
Has Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig arrived as one of the NHL's
premier keepers or is he just riding a hot
streak?
—Scott Gribben,
Buffalo
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Olaf Kolzig seems to have what it takes for a long
and successful career, but you never know with
goalies.
(Craig Melvin/Allsport)
|
Kolzig has the size and the solid butterfly style to be
good for a while. Most important, he seems to have gotten
under control the temper that undermined his progress
through the minors before this season. But, to be honest,
goaltenders are such a
quixotic bunch, I've given up trying to forecast their long-term
success. The best GMs in the business have a hard time with
this. Take Jim Carey, for example, Washington's 1996 Vezina
winner. Now he's floundering in the minors with the Bruins
(or in
The Truman
Show, I'm told). So I'm very impressed with Kolzig, and his
consistency all year means that if I were starting a team
I'd be thrilled to have him as my goalie. But I wouldn't
bet the barn on any newcomer behind a
mask.
In previewing the Blues vs. Red Wings, you astutely
pinpointed the lack of a "deeply respected
leader" who could carry the Blues through the rough
spots in a playoff series. Red Wings fans know we have
that commodity—do the Dallas Stars? And if the answer
is, as I suspect, no, who is the current candidate to
become one? Mike
Modano?
—Colette Lewis, Kalamazoo,
Mich.
The Stars have a strong veteran presence in their locker
room, and Derian Hatcher is certainly a respected captain.
Because there are a lot of experienced guys like Dave Reid,
Bob Bassen, Shawn Chambers, etc., I believe the need for a
dominant leader is
diminished. But there's no doubt that the team follows
Modano's lead. He's the best player and he's won a lot of
respect over the past two years, playing in pain and also
changing his finesse style into an aggressive two-way game.
For instance, when he
sacrificed his offense in this year's series against the
Oilers and shut down Doug Weight, he really set the tone
for the team. Modano is the leader already, and should
continue to emerge, along with a core around him that
includes
Hatcher.
You wrote that Buffalo still needs a 35- to 40-goal
scorer to be considered a legitimate, top-flight team. Well,
what about Geoff Sanderson? He has been a 40-goal scorer in
the past, and he's definitely not past his prime. I think
if he can get it going next year playing on one of the
Sabres' top two lines, he could add the scoring punch they
need. And as someone who has followed the Whalercanes for
years, I know that he is very capable of doing
it.
—Mike Elliott, Mechanicsburg,
Pa.
Yes, maybe I overlooked Sanderson. He's a few years removed
from his 40-goal years, but he's certainly in the 30-35
range. He's not as hurly-burly a player as some top snipers
are—his critics say he's too soft. But I agree that
he's a viable offensive
force in his mid-20s with some good years ahead. To become
the top player on a good team (i.e., these Sabres), he'll
have to lift his game to a higher level than it was when he
played for the perennially struggling Whale. Let's watch
him. He can be a big
asset, but I still think Buffalo needs another
sharpshooter.
What is it going to take for the media to give the St.
Louis Blues the respect they deserve? They got some notice
in the playoffs, but after Detroit eliminated them,
sportscasters like you threw them aside with an "I
told you so." What changes do you feel the Blues need
to make to overcome the Detroit hurdle next
year?
—Dan Davis, Carlyle,
Ill.
The Blues were and are a very good team. They played a lot
of boring, low-number-of-shots, muck-in-the-corners games,
but they played them very effectively. And their first
power-play unit was a pleasure to behold. I give them full
credit for having a
surprisingly good and remarkably consistent season and I
wasn't at all surprised see them wallop the Kings in the
first round. They just weren't quite in the Stanley Cup
class in my opinion. That's the only bandwagon I was
referring to—all those people
who started picking the Blues to win the Cup before and after
the first round. I thought that was way premature and not
well-founded.
The Blues are good, and as long as goalie Grant Fuhr keeps
plugging away they should make the playoffs next year as
well. But St. Louis will have a tough time keeping its own
free agents, and has a lot of financial baggage left over
from Mike Keenan's
wild-spending era. I don't see how the Blues can close the
gap on Detroit. If they lose Brett Hull, maybe they'll go
after Ron Francis. And the continued development of Chris
Pronger—he's already excellent, and I think he'll get
even better—should
help.
Who is the alltime best player in the
NHL?
—John Sager,
Toronto
Wayne Gretzky. This isn't open to debate or discussion, any
more than you could argue Babe Ruth in
baseball.
Send a question to Kostya
Kennedy, and check back Tuesday to read more of
his
responses.
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NHL Finals
