Kukla's Korner Hockey
Can Khabibulin Still Play?
by Paul on 07/15/11 at 10:10 AM ET
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from David Staples of the Edmonton Journal,
The formerly great Russian goalie is signed up here for two more years, after all, and as solid as Devan Dubnyk appears to be, the Oilers will still need a back-up for 25 to 35 games each year.
So Khabibulin’s got the contract, but does he have any game left at all?
On the plus side, we know of at least one goalie who makes the 38-year-old Khabibulin look like a youngster. Dwayne Roloson is making 41 look like the new 31 for NHL goalies. Of course, the bad news is the obvious news: Roloson is the exception. The only other goalie over the age of 35 who truly got the job done in the NHL last season was 37-year-old Tim Thomas. Khabibulin is not Tim Thomas. He’s not even half of that.
The regular stats don’t pain a bright picture, as has been reported at length everywhere and every day on the Oilogosphere. My Journal colleague Jim Matheson aptly compared Khabibulin to Tommy Salo when Salo was on his last NHL legs.
Today, I thought I’d take a look at some of the stats I keep at The Cult and see if the story is any different through their lens.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Nikolai+Khabibulin,
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