Nikolai Khabibulin

At 51 years old, Nikolai Khabibulin has this physical status:

Nikolai Alexandrovich Khabibulin ( (born January 13, 1973) is a Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender.

Known by the nickname The Bulin Wall, he spent the majority of his playing career in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Edmonton Oilers. Khabibulin excelled at the international level, winning two Olympic medals (gold and bronze) and was named Best Goaltender at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

He was the first Russian goaltender to ever win the Stanley Cup, doing so with Tampa Bay in 2004.

He was also a four-time NHL All-Star.

Personal life

On February 8, 2010, Khabibulin was pulled over in Arizona by a police officer for surpassing the legal speed limit by 25 miles per hour. The officer noted various signs that suggested Khabibulin could have been under the influence of alcohol, and proceeded to administer a field sobriety test. Khabibulin was subsequently arrested and charged with speeding and impaired driving.

On July 7, 2010, Khabibulin's court case was postponed. On August 27, 2010, Khabibulin was found guilty of excessive speed, extreme DUI and DUI over the 0.08 level. On August 31, 2010, he received the minimum sentence of 30 days in jail, which he then tried to appeal. On July 26, 2011, Khabibulin withdrew the appeal, and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He was in a jail for half of the time, and under house arrest for the other half. Khabibulin served his sentence in Joe Arpaio's Tent City jail.

Khabibulin helped Victoria Azarenka settle in Scottsdale when she moved from Belarus to pursue a career in tennis. His wife is friends with Azarenka's mother and decided to help her. They have become close friends since. Khabibulin's daughter, Sasha, is the wife of former NHL player Robert Nilsson.

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Playing career

Khabibulin was selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the ninth round of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. He was a member of the touring Russian Penguins from 1993-94, and by the time of the NHL season in 1995, he was playing in the NHL for the first time. In 1996, he followed the Jets to Phoenix, Arizona, where they became the Phoenix Coyotes. He played at least 60 games in three years with the Jets/Coyotes franchise, including two seasons in which he played 70 games), a heavy workload for a goaltender. Although the team made the Stanley Cup playoffs each of these years, some believed that Khabibulin was the reason for their first-round exits, owing to Khabibulin's exhaustion from so many regular season games.

Khabibulin became embroiled in a bitter labour dispute with the Coyotes that lasted for a whole season. He competed for the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League (IHL), winning the James Gatschen Memorial Trophy as the league MVP during this season.

Khabibulin was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Mike Johnson, Paul Mara, Ruslan Zainullin, and the New York Islanders' second-round pick (previously acquired; Phoenix selected Matthew Spiller). Khabibulin quickly signed a Tampa Bay contract, and by the next season, he re-emerged as a top goaltender. The World All-Star Game's flawless, 20-save third period aided the Stars to win by a narrow margin of 8–5. Although Éric Dazé of the Chicago Blackhawks was selected as the All-Star MVP, Khabibulin's performance was the talk of both locker rooms. Moreover, several players were surprised that Khabibulin wasn't voted MVP, an award that they felt was both deserved and obvious. MVP voting was allegedly conducted with around five minutes remaining in the game, but the North American All-Stars retained the lead.

Khabibulin, joined by budding stars Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, and Brad Richards, helped the Lightning return to the playoffs in 2003, their first appearance since 1996, and then to a Stanley Cup in 2004, the first in franchise history. Khabibulin had five shutouts in 23 playoff games, including three shutouts in the first round match-up against the New York Islanders (tied for the most shutouts in a playoff round). Unlike his time in Phoenix, Khabibulin could enjoy extended rest when needed due to his backup, John Grahame's skill.

Khabibulin was one of many Russian players to return to their homeland during the 2005–05 NHL lockout. He appeared for Ak Bars Kazan in Kazan from November 2004 to November.

Khabibulin became a free agent as the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) approved a new collective bargaining deal (CBA). The Chicago Blackhawks have drafted him to a four-year, $27 million contract, making him the highest paid goaltender in the league, following his Stanley Cup victory last season. However, injuries and inconsistent play dogged him during his Chicago tenure. He had a 3.35 goals against average (GAA), the highest level of his career, after his rookie season in Winnipeg, and Chicago finished second-last in the Western Conference in his first season with the Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks signed goaltender Cristobal Huet, formerly of the Washington Capitals, in July 2008. Huet's signing was supposed to have effectively ended Khabibulin as the starting goaltender, particularly considering that he was put on waivers on September 29, 2008, but not released. Given Huet and Khabibulin's combined salaries (Huet was hired to a $5.6 million per year), it was predicted that Khabibulin would be moved to provide cap space. However, he spent the entire season with the team, playing in 42 games, and by the time the 2009 playoffs were announced, he had retrenched himself as the starting goaltender. Khabibulin and the Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference Finals against the Detroit Red Wings after defeating the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. Khabibulin surrendered three goals in a single period during the third game of the series after shutting down the Red Wings in the previous season. Due to a lower body injury, he was forced to leave Huet for the third time. Due to the injury, Khabibulin skipped the remaining three games of the series.

Khabibulin agreed to a four-year, $15 million deal with the Edmonton Oilers on July 1, 2009, replacing Dwayne Roloson as the Oilers' starting goaltender.

His Oilers' debut against the Calgary Flames on October 3 was a blunder, but it was a good blunder. In the final minute of the third period, right wing David Moss lost the puck and gave up the game-winning goal.

Khabibulin will require surgery to restore a herniated disk in his back on January 13, 2010. He missed the remainder of the regular season.

Khabibulin won by 4–0 over the Calgary Flames in a 37-save victory. Nevertheless, injuries limited his movement once more. Although the Oilers were now last place in the Western Conference, he had a rather poor record of 10–32–3.

Khabibulin's strong play in October of the 2011-12 season, resulting in a 5–0–2 record and a 1.12 GAA, he was named as the Third Star of the Month. Khabibulin's play suffered in the second half of the season, with an average 2.65 GAA and a.910 save percentage. Devan Dubnyk, the team's starting goaltender, was demoted as the team's starting goaltender in the lockout-shortened 2012-2013 season. Khabibulin was a back-up in Khabibulin's first season as a backup.

Khabibulin signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Blackhawks for the 2013–14 season on July 5, 2013. It was his second time with Chicago after playing for them from 2005 to 2009. He was the back-up goaltender to Corey Crawford for the backup goaltender.

Khabibulin sustained an injury in a loss to the Nashville Predators on November 16, 2013, and was put on injured reserve the next day. As a result, goaltender Antti Raanta was called from the Blackhawks' American Hockey league (AHL) affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Since suffering the hip injury, he never played another game in the NHL. On November 13, 2015, Khabibulin declared his intention to retire. He has expressed an interest in continuing his hockey career as a mentor.

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