The Washington Capitals are fortunate to have had two spectacular goalies in their history. Olaf Kolzig was selected by general manager David Poile with the 19th overall pick in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft and Braden Holtby was chosen by GM George McPhee with the 93rd overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Both goalies had stellar NHL careers, but which one is the best goalie in franchise history?
Kolzig’s journey to becoming the Washington starter took a bit of time. He made his NHL debut in 1989-90 and was one of five goalies to suit up during that campaign, along with Mike Liut, Don Beaupre, Bob Mason, and Jim Hrivnak. Kolzig played in two games to start and lost both. He split the 1990-91 and 1991-92 campaigns between the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Baltimore Skipjacks and the Hampton Roads Admirals of the ECHL (the ECHL at the time).
Kolzig finally got back into the NHL for a game in 1992-93, and gradually built up his career from there. In 1993-94, he suited up for seven games; in 1994-95, he played 14; and in 1995-96, he played 18. By the end of the 1997-98 campaign, he was the starting goalie, playing 64 regular-season contests. On top of that, the Capitals fought their way through the 1998 Playoffs and made it to the Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings. Despite stellar play from Kolzig, the Red Wings won their second Cup in a row.
During his NHL career, Kolzig won the Vezina Trophy for the 1999-00 campaign, the King Clancy Memorial Trophy (2005-06) and the NHL Foundation Player Award (2000-01). He also suited up for two NHL All-Star Games (1998 and 2000).
By the time Kolzig finished his career, he was the Capitals’ franchise leader in wins, games played, and shutouts. He posted the following results during this time with the organization:
For many years, Kolzig was considered the greatest goaltender in franchise history. Then came Holtby.
McPhee tried multiple replacements to fill the void after Kolzig left D.C. He tried Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth, who only got the Capitals so far before he found Holtby.
Holtby debuted for the Capitals during the 2010-11 season. He played in 14 games and posted a record of 10-2-2. His GAA was 1.79, while his SV% was .934. He also had two shutouts. His workload gradually increased, and his game got more and more impressive. He went from playing in 36 games in 2012-13 to 48 in 2013-14, and then 73 in 2014-15, establishing himself as their go-to netminder. His regular-season career for the Capitals included the following numbers:
The main difference between the two goalies is that Holtby was a big factor in the Capitals winning their first championship. Kolzig helped Washiting reach the 1998 Cup Final, but they came out of that series on the losing end. Holtby helped defeat the Vegas Golden Knights in five games, with solid saves, including robbing former Golden Knights winger Alex Tuch in Game 2.
Holtby finished the 2018 Playoffs with a record of 16-7. He had a .922 SV%, a GAA of 2.16, and two shutouts. Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, TJ Oshie, and Evgeny Kuznetsov were all huge contributors to the team’s Cup win. However, Holtby was the backbone who provided defensive relief when called upon. Had he not been on top of his game, the Capitals would not have won the Cup.
Holtby’s other awards include winning the Vezina Trophy in 2015-16 and the William M. Jennings Trophy in 2016-17.
Kolzig and Holtby rank first and second in franchise wins. They also have the most games played for the Capitals, Kolzig leading with 711 games, while Holtby played 468 games. They are tied for the franchise lead in shutouts, with 35 each, and they both reached the Cup Final with the Capitals. The only difference here, as major as it is, is that Holtby won a championship. Otherwise, they are even to an extent.
Who is the better goalie? The title must belong to Holtby. Kolzig leads the Capitals in wins, but he also played hundreds more games for Washington than Holtby. If Holtby had played in 711 games instead of 468, it’s possible he would be the clear favorite for the best goalie in the organization’s history. Kolzig will always be a household name in D.C., but what Holtby was able to do in the amount of time he did it gives him the edge.
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David Reinbacher impressed Montreal Canadiens management enough for general manager Kent Hughes to deal fellow right defense prospect Logan Mailloux to the St. Louis Blues for sophomore forward Zachary Bolduc. Because of his ability to shut down the rush, cut off checkers at the blueline and then spring a pass or use his feet to skate his way out of trouble consistently, the six-foot-four Austrian defender (despite limited experience on North American ice) has many believers. The idea that Reinbacher and Ivan Demidov could play out their Calder seasons together in 2025-26 doesn't seem so far-fetched, because Reinbacher emerged as the Laval Rocket's top dog on defense, during his first taste of American Hockey League playoff hockey. For the fans that enjoy Kaiden Guhle's responsible style of hockey, and ability to scan and react, breaking potential oddman rushes, thanks to great anticipation, foot speed and defensive details, Reinbacher displays many of those tools. You could argue that Reinbacher has a much higher offensive upside, but in any world where both are playing in your top four defense, as a head coach, you would feel incredibly spoiled with riches. The pair are 23 and 20 years old respectively, so there is significant development leash ahead. There is a very good argument to be made that while Reinbacher looked like an NHL player during the AHL playoffs, he has played just 21 games of North American regular-season professional hockey under his belt, so further seasoning isn't going to overcook the prospect, but ensure he is ready when he makes the jump. However, there are exceptions, and if Reinbacher can follow up his brilliant playoff debut with the Rocket, where he registered six points in 13 games, and emerged as an all-situations defenseman, that head coach Pascal Vincent leaned on for big and important minutes, with a great training camp in the fall, he could put himself on the fast track to the big league. Reinbacher has tremendous upside, and is still learning to use his big frame to punish opponents along the boards and in front of the net, but once he integrates some added physicality and some daring offensive sequences into his game with more regularity, he could put himself and the Canadiens blueline in a great spot to accelerate their rebuild exponentially in 2025-26. The playoffs are the standard for the Canadiens now, regardless of what the media might say, and it wouldn't be wise to suggest to any of the players that the team will regress and achieve anything less than another playoff berth next season. Montreal's 2023 fifth overall selection is hoping to earn his stripes and help push the team beyond the first round, and perhaps further in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Seranthony Dominguez certainly had an eventful day on Tuesday. The veteran MLB reliever began the day on the Baltimore Orioles and was with his teammates in the dugout during the first leg of a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays. The O's went on to win, 16-4, at Oriole Park in Baltimore, though Dominguez did not pitch during the game. But the day took a bizarre turn when the two teams agreed to a deal in the middle of the doubleheader. The Orioles traded Dominguez to the Blue Jays in exchange for minor league pitcher Juaron Watts-Brown. That led to a strange scene where Dominguez switched clubhouses after being traded, walking across the hallway to get to the Toronto side. Things got even weirder during the second leg of the doubleheader. Dominguez got the call to pitch for the Blue Jays against his former team. He had to walk past his ex-Baltimore teammates to get to the Toronto bullpen, and then entered the game in the seventh inning to pitch. Here is the unusual spectacle that saw Dominguez pitch against the guys that he began the day as teammates with. The whole thing was so bizarre that it even looked like Dominguez received a hastily-made Blue Jays jersey with the “8” in his No. 48 apparently stuck on backwards. Dominguez, a 30-year-old in his seventh MLB season, ended up striking out two in a scoreless frame against his former team. We have certainly seen instances of MLB players getting traded in the middle of games before, but that had to be the first instance of a player starting the first half of a doubleheader on one team and then pitching in the second half for the other team.
Cincinnati Bengals star defensive end Trey Hendrickson has been holding out from training camp as he seeks a new contract, and it does not sound like the two sides are all that close to a deal. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said on "SportsCenter" Monday that there has been "some progress" in negotiations between the Bengals and Hendrickson's representatives over the past week or so. The real disagreement has to do with guaranteed money, and Cincinnati's brass is not budging. "Hendrickson wants a stronger guaranteed structure, particularly later in what should be a multiyear deal. In talking to people with the Bengals they feel like, 'Hey, we've probably relented as far as we can go.' So this is a classic stare-off right now, and it's time to buckle up," Fowler said, via Andrew Peters of Bleacher Report. Hendrickson is set to earn $16M in base salary in the final year of his contract this season. He recently said he has shown a willingness to take less than market value on a new deal, but the Bengals do not want to guarantee him money beyond the 2026 season. Based on what he has said, the 30-year-old Hendrickson is not seeking to become the highest-paid defensive player in football. In order to accomplish that, he would have to top the three-year, $123M extension T.J. Watt signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. Hendrickson had 35 sacks over the past two seasons, which was the most in the NFL during that span. He had 17.5 sacks each season and finished second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024. The Bengals took care of one major offseason issue on Sunday when they finally signed first-round pick Shemar Stewart to a rookie deal. All it will take is one side to budge in the team's ongoing stalemate with Hendrickson, but all parties seem to be dug in as training camp rolls on.
Coming into training camp, ups and downs were expected for Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who is essentially still a rookie. The team has high expectations for the 22-year-old, but also realizes that it's going to take some time for him to learn and grow and develop after he missed so many valuable reps due to his knee injury last season. Through the first handful of practices in camp, there had been a lot more good than bad from McCarthy. Saturday's practice, in particular, saw him put on a show for the fans in attendance with numerous impressive throws. With that said, Tuesday's practice was more bad than good. McCarthy's completion percentage — while I didn't track it down to the throw — was well below 50 percent in team periods. There were some that were narrow misses, some that were blatant misses or miscommunications, and a couple balls that were arguably drops by his targets. But the overall theme was that far too many balls hit the grass instead of being completed. In early route-running period near the goal line, McCarthy found Jordan Addison, but he couldn't secure the ball as Jeff Okudah appeared to punch it out. One play later, McCarthy threw just a touch high for Lucky Jackson, who made a great catch but was ruled to be out of bounds. He also failed to connect with T.J. Hockenson on two targets, one of which was well behind the tight end. McCarthy was better in 11-on-11 action in the middle of the field, highlighted by a pretty strike to Addison for a chunk gain. Then came another goal line period, this one 7 on 7, and the struggles resumed. He missed Addison in the back corner of the end zone. He threw another one back there to Addison, who caught it but landed out of bounds. He rifled one just high for Josh Oliver, with the ball deflecting off of Oliver's hands and then directly into the crossbar. McCarthy did throw a couple touchdowns during that period as well. The Vikings finished up with a situational period where the offense faced a third down and then transitioned into either a field goal, a punt, or a fourth-down attempt. McCarthy's first throw was a nice completion downfield to Aaron Jones, setting up a field goal try. But he then threw one way too high for Jordan Mason on a fourth down, and followed that by missing Jalen Nailor by quite a bit due to an apparent miscommunication. That caused McCarthy to put both of his hands on his helmet. It was that kind of day. To be clear, this isn't concerning or worth putting too much stock in. McCarthy has had a strong start to camp, and off days are going to happen. It wasn't a particularly long or high-intensity practice compared to some of the other ones we've seen. And in training camp, results on one day of practice — good or bad — are never all that meaningful, especially when it's still July. Lastly, the first-team offense remains without its two best players, Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw. McCarthy will look to shake it off and have a better day on Wednesday, which will be the second fully-padded practice of camp. Here are a few other things I saw on Tuesday: There were plenty of vet days off today. On the defensive line, Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave sat out, which meant first-team reps for Jalen Redmond and rookie Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins alongside Harrison Phillips. At safety, it was Theo Jackson and Jay Ward in for Harrison Smith and Josh Metellus. Offensively, Michael Jurgens was at center for Ryan Kelly, while Brian O'Neill got some plays off, which meant Blake Brandel sliding out to right tackle. Will Fries pancaked backup defensive tackle Jonathan Harris on a screen pass to T.J. Hockenson, which drew some high fives from teammates. One of the things that shows up on Fries' Colts tape is his tenacity when it comes to finishing blocks. Dwight McGlothern just keeps making plays. After he had an interception on Monday and broke up a pass that created another pick, the second-year cornerback jumped a route and picked off Sam Howell on Tuesday. There are a lot of guys competing for roster spots in the Vikings' CB room, but it feels like "Nudie" (McGlothern's nickname) is going to be on the 53. It was a good day for the Vikings' depth tight ends. Ben Yurosek had one of the highlights of the practice with a leaping touchdown catch from Howell in red zone 7s, but Bryson Nesbit and Giovanni Ricci made some plays as well. With Gavin Bartholomew on the PUP list, those first three guys are competing for the TE3 role, as things stand. Will Reichard hasn't been automatic in the first couple days we've seen him kick. He hit the left upright from 53 yards out in the situational period, then later missed wide right from 46. I believe Reichard was 5 for 7 on the day, including makes from 48 and 50 yards. Rondale Moore and Silas Bolden got the first two punt return reps in the situational drill. More Vikings coverage