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Confirmed Signing with Link: Nikolai Khabibulin signs 1 year contract with Torpedo in the KHL

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Brodeur said:
Huzzah for an excuse to share a Khabibulin anecdote that I didn't know until a few years back. I missed most of the 1998 Olympics due to school + time difference + Team USA bowing out early. There was a thread on the history of hockey board with some highlights of the Gold Medal game and I was surprised that Mikhail Shtalenkov was in net for the Russians. Then I was shocked when I looked up the roster and Khabibulin wasn't even on the team.

The story behind that was amusing. In 1992, Khabibulin was the young third string goalie on the post-Soviet breakup unified team which won Gold. Viktor Tikhonov was still the head coach but figured his time with that job would be coming to an end. Coaches don't receive medals and Tikhonov felt like he deserved one, so he essentially took Khabibulin's. Khabibulin was understandably upset about that but didn't speak out since he was young. He'd play for Team Russia at the 1996 World Cup but refused to play in 1998 since most of the old guard still held positions of power.


Slava Fetisov took over in time for the 2002 Olympics and was able to get Khabibulin back on the team. The IOC also presented Khabibulin with a replacement medal.
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@Brodeur , thank you for what you bring to HF. So many gems like this.
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Davo Ikinzom said:
Nah, I fully understand the context of why 50 year old Russians are coming out of retirement instead of signing foreigners to play in their league.
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No, you don't and just admitted that, as they have Slovakian Adam Huska and Belarussian Ivan Kulbakov ahead of Khabibulin in the pecking order, both non-Russians just in case you didn't notice.
 
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Caser said:
No, you don't and just admitted that, as they have Slovakian Adam Huska and Belarussian Ivan Kulbakov ahead of Khabibulin in the pecking order, both non-Russians just in case you didn't notice.
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I mean, the fact that you're using a Belarussian as an example of a foreign player in the KHL says it all really.

If you want to pretend there wasn't an exodus of foreign players from the league after the elephant in the room we're not allowed to talk about, then it's obvious you just have your head in the sand.

Not to mention Jokerit and Dinamo dropping out of the league.
 
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Davo Ikinzom said:
I mean, the fact that you're using a Belarussian as an example of a foreign player in the KHL says it all really.

If you want to pretend there wasn't an exodus of foreign players from the league after the elephant in the room we're not allowed to talk about, then it's obvious you just have your head in the sand.

Not to mention Jokerit and Dinamo dropping out of the league.
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Man, are you aware that the Russian KHL teams can't even have more than one foreign (non-Russian, non-Belarus and non-Kazakh) goalie? If you would be, you wouldn't even be writing all that.
 
Caser said:
Man, are you aware that the Russian KHL teams can't even have more than one foreign (non-Russian, non-Belarus and non-Kazakh) goalie? If you would be, you wouldn't even be writing all that.
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No, that's why I'd expect someone who's more familiar with the league like yourself to add context.

Anyway, I saw some Tampa fan say he's their goalie coach. That and it being a publicity stunt are the only good explanations.
 
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He was my older brothers favourite goalie growing up and just looking back at his stats are so crazy.

How you play 70 games with a SV .920%, a GAA of 2.36 and you LOSE MORE GAMES THAN YOU WIN

WHAT THE FLYING F***!?
 
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Brodeur said:
Huzzah for an excuse to share a Khabibulin anecdote that I didn't know until a few years back. I missed most of the 1998 Olympics due to school + time difference + Team USA bowing out early. There was a thread on the history of hockey board with some highlights of the Gold Medal game and I was surprised that Mikhail Shtalenkov was in net for the Russians. Then I was shocked when I looked up the roster and Khabibulin wasn't even on the team.

The story behind that was amusing. In 1992, Khabibulin was the young third string goalie on the post-Soviet breakup unified team which won Gold. Viktor Tikhonov was still the head coach but figured his time with that job would be coming to an end. Coaches don't receive medals and Tikhonov felt like he deserved one, so he essentially took Khabibulin's. Khabibulin was understandably upset about that but didn't speak out since he was young. He'd play for Team Russia at the 1996 World Cup but refused to play in 1998 since most of the old guard still held positions of power.


Slava Fetisov took over in time for the 2002 Olympics and was able to get Khabibulin back on the team. The IOC also presented Khabibulin with a replacement medal.
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That was a big deal here in Tampa at the time. I believe it was the first (maybe only) time the IOC had recast a medal from a previous Olympics.
 
This has got to be a joke right ?

That team doesn’t actually plan on playing him to stop pucks right ?
 
Davo Ikinzom said:
No, that's why I'd expect someone who's more familiar with the league like yourself to add context.

Anyway, I saw some Tampa fan say he's their goalie coach. That and it being a publicity stunt are the only good explanations.
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But I did add the context on the first page. :dunno:

Also that if he actually plays he will be the second oldest player in the KHL history (after Fetisov back in 2009), which obviously also is a publicity thing.
 
Caser said:
But I did add the context on the first page. :dunno:

Also that if he actually plays he will be the second oldest player in the KHL history (after Fetisov back in 2009), which obviously also is a publicity thing.
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Don't care about the context. Dont care about the History. Dont care about the politics.


Can I watch the Bulin Wall or not ?!:D :laugh:
 
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