Kolzig said he just wishes there had been some better communication after Washington traded for goaltender Cristobal Huet and pushed Kolzig to a backup role. Kolzig's relationship with Capitals general manager George McPhee was a strong one, Kolzig said. But he said he and McPhee did not speak after Huet was acquired. Kolzig said the lack of communication from the team was part of the reason he decided to leave after the season and contemplated retirement.

"I understand the trade fell in his lap, but there was really no communication for the eight weeks after the trade deadline," Kolzig said.

— Damian Cristodero, Lightning Strikes

Cristodero's blog is excellent, by the way. It's great to see so many hockey beat writers south of the border embracing blogging lately.

Kolzig got a raw deal in Washington, there's no question. Yes, his play did fall off last season, but at some point that had to be expected, and what the Capitals should have done was transitioned him into the backup role. He's 38 this season and frankly should have retired as a Capital after more than 700 games in uniform there.

Kolzig's eighth all time in games played in franchise history, and has appeared in 442 more games as a Capital than the next highest goaltender (Don Beaupre). The Washington franchise has been around 34 years, and Kolzig's played in an incredible 27 per cent of the team's games.

J.P. over at Japers' Rink has strong feelings on the issue (along with a lot of other Capitals fans):

Now, I'll be standing and applauding during that video tribute, but let's try to remember that the relationship between Kolzig and the Caps was a mutually beneficial one (to the tune of more than $42 million for the player and 301 wins for the team) and that while one side of the break-up has been told over and over and over again, the other side has taken the high road and not given the matter a public airing.

More importantly, let's try to remember that Olie Kolzig is coming into the Verizon Center tomorrow night with the intent of taking two points home with him.

There's no doubt about that.

Kolzig's had three starts so far this season and is 1-1-1 with a nifty .925 save percentage. The game he won was at Buffalo, not exactly an easy place to pull out a victory, and he also played in two one-goal losses against the Rangers and Islanders.

Erik Erlendsson has more from the Tampa side. Tarik El-Bashir's got a Kolzig update from the Capitals' perspective on his blog, and fellow Washington Postie Mike Wise has a nice piece on the "cruel endings" of a lot of famed athletes in Monday's paper:

"I understand it's a business and I'm getting up there and they thought I was on my way down," Kolzig said. "Being the owner of a junior team, I know how that works. And I know I didn't have a great year. The only thing that really bothered me was the lack of communication. I just wanted someone to be up front with me, tell me what the deal was."

A year ago, who thought we'd see Godzilla finish his career in Tampa Bay, the backup to Mike Smith and as a veteran providing leadership as one of a number of old dogs — there are two Lightning players older than Kolzig — on a pretty interesting journey?

Not me.

Even still, we all know it'll end with No. 37 in the Verizon Center's rafters, hurt feelings or not.

Related: How well do you know Olaf Kolzig? [james mirtle]