Kolzig to Join Gonchar?

That's what Larry thinks.

Hoo boy... It's been awhile but Larry Brooks comes out with a doosy today saying that the Penguin Scum will be going hard after Olie Kolzig should the Caps be sellers (a foregone conclusion as far as Ol' Lar is concerned) at the deadline.

Aside from the total betrayal to Kolzig, the fans, and the franchise itself should such a trade be made by the Caps, I find it hard to believe that Kolzig could fare any better behind a Penguin Scum blueline that still boasts Sergei Gonchar on it's top pair and is relying on Darryl Sydor to shore things up. Certainly Marc-Andre Fluery has gotten off to a disappointing start and there has to be serious concerns about him in crunch time. But acquiring Kolzig would leave the Penguin Scum with only some $2.75 million in cap space to try to fix their blueline.

Then of course there's the return for Kolzig. It's no secrect that the Caps are looking for a right wing for the top line and I'm beginning to think that Michael Nylander's only role on this team is to mentor Nicklas Backstrom so maybe a top line center would be the required return for Kolzig (oh and we would need a goaltender too). But what in the terms of prospects do the Penguin Scum have to offer? The cupboard is relatively bare and quite frankly, the Caps are beyond taking draft picks for players, especially a player like Kolzig. That means that the Penguin Scum would have to give up a player off the NHL roster which, considering their position, kinda defeats the purpose. Furthermore, what would it do (not to mention say about) Fleury should the Penguin Scum bring any bonafide #1 goaltender in for a playoff run? Should the Penguin Scum be goaltender shopping at the deadline, they would be wiser to look elsewhere other than Washington.

Though there is also the PR factor in D.C. Should Kolzig be shipped out at the deadline this year, Ted Leonsis would have to go into hiding and George McPhee wouldn't be too far behind him. There are still fans who have not forgiven the Caps for trading Bondra in 2004 and not bringing him back after the lockout; so let's not even think about what the reaction would be if Kolzig were traded anywhere lettalone to Pittsburgh. Even if Kolzig said he asked to be traded to the Penguin Scum (who are in the Phone Booth after the trade deadline) in an attempt to take the heat off of management, who among the fans and players in the NHL take the Caps at their word anymore? The Caps fans would STILL blame Leonsis and McPhee for failing to put enough talent around Kolzig so that he could win a Cup with the Caps. If you think attendance is bad now, trade Kolzig and you'd be able to count the Caps fans in attendance with only a couple of extra hands.

But again, this is Larry Brooks we're talking about here. You'll remember Larry told the Penguin Scum that they had no choice but to trade Jagr to the Rangers and that once he was with the Caps, the Rangers were no longer interested in him.