Olaf Kolzig

It is hard to imagine Washington Capitals without Olaf Kolzig. This Johannesburg-born German goaltender has played for Washington Capitals since 1989, even leading them to the Stanley Cup finals in 1997-1998.

Popularly known as "Oalie the goalie", Kolzig has his name written on virtually all the major hockey trophies. These include the Vezina Trophy (2000), Jack Butterfield Trophy (1994), and the Harry Holmes Memorial Trophy (1994).

He has also donned the German colors in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano and the 2004 World Cup. What's more, he has the distinction of playing in the NHL All-Star Games in 1998 and 2000.

Kolzig, who is known as a workhorse, often logs as many as 70 games in a season. This is remarkable for a goalkeeper whose feats in front of the goal are legendary. In fact, during his long career his name has always figured among the top 5 NHL goaltenders who made the most saves.

It is not a surprise that Kolzig, who signed a two-year $10.9 million dollar extension with the Capitals in 2006, was rated as the top Capitals players in 2004. The poll was done to find out the most popular Washington Capitals player ever since the team started playing. Click here to add this page to your favorites

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