A Decade After Retiring, Stanley Cup Winner signs New Pro Contract
I don't think anyone saw this coming until it was announced. A Stanley Cup-winning goaltender, and four-time NHL All-Star, has decided to come out of retirement after a decade.
Nikolai Khabibulin was serving as the goaltending coach for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL. It was announced today that he's signed a deal until the end of this season to play for the team. Khabibulin turns 51 on Jan. 13 of this year.
Khabibulin won a Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, playing 23 games for the team in the playoffs and managing 5 shutouts. His NHL career ended in the 2013-14 season after a four-game stint with the Chicago Blackhawks. Torpedo's coach, Igor Larionov, said Khabibulin has been training intensely for three months, and the team needed a third goaltender after an injury to another netminder. We'll see if the Bulin Wall can get some games in.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 27 | 300 ANSWERS A Decade After Retiring, Stanley Cup Winner signs New Pro Contract Do you think Khabibulin will play? | ||
| Yes | 118 | 39.3 % |
| No | 135 | 45 % |
| Not sure | 47 | 15.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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