'Bulin to the Minimal

  Edmonton Oilers’ goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin was sentenced to 30 days in prison and a $250 fine in a Scottsdale, Arizona on Tuesday. The 30-day stay is the minimum Nikolai could have received under Arizona State law after being found guilty of three (of four) charges against him. The maximum sentence would have been six months. He will also likely be entered into the NHL’s substance abuse program.

  Khabibulin was pulled over last February while speeding in Arizona and was found with a blood alcohol level of at least twice the legal limit in that state, .164, and was cited for an extreme DUI. Nikolai has appealed the decision, which will start a process that could take several months to complete.

  The problem for Nikolai and the Oiler’s organization is the fact that the season could well be under way by the time he actually serves his sentence. This is grounds for the Oilers to exercise their right to void Khabibulin’s contract, which has three years remaining at $3.75 million per year.

“The Edmonton Oilers acknowledge and respect the decision handed down today by the Scottsdale City Court..” said Steve Tambellini in a press release to the media regarding Nikolai’s punishment. “Nik and his lawyers have exercised their right to appeal, which means the process continues. Unfortunately this doesn’t allow me to comment on behalf of the team. As far as any further discipline by the league or anyone else we’ll just have to wait and see. We do expect him to make training camp.”

  Khabibulin heads into year two of a four year $15 million deal he signed last off-season. He only appeared in 18 games last year before a season ending back injury requiring surgery. In 696 games he is 306-276-26 with a 2.68 GAA and .908 save percentage. He’s a four-time NHL All Star, gold and bronze Olympic medalist, and won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 03-04.

  I truly do like Nikolai Khabibulin as a player in the NHL, and am in no position to pass judgment , but the eventual punishment is quite embarrassing and nothing more than a slap on the wrist. The appeal was undoubtedly a ploy to delay court proceedings long enough to get Khabibulin to training camp, but owning up to a mistake would have looked much better on his resume. Everyone person on earth makes mistakes, and people who haven’t ever gotten behind the wheel when they shouldn’t have are few and far between, but when you are a key figure in a key role the ramifications are ten-fold. The player responsibility and decision making, complied with the NHL’s expectation of its’ players, is one of the things that separates the National Hockey League from other top professional sports.

  Nikolai (albeit not enduring the hardest of sentences) is going to have to learn the hard way and find a way to overcome this. I hope for his sake and for the Oilers’ he is able to leap this hurdle and continue on in his excellent career for years to come. The unfortunate alternate scenario could spell the end of the ‘Bulin Wall’s’ great career.

-Kendall Grubbs