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Arizona Coyotes Throwback: Getting To Know Nikolai Khabibulin

By William Grigsby |

Getting to Know the Vets: Looking Back at Nikolai Khabibulin

Nikolai Khabibulin (appropriately nicknamed the Bulin Wall) came to Phoenix in 1996, when the Winnipeg Jets re-located to the desert.

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    • When explaining his nickname, the netminder revealed that it was actually the inspiration behind his mask design — makes sense, since he isn’t actually a Pink Floyd fan.

    “Someone tabbed me the Bulin Wall [after the Berlin Wall] and it stuck. I told the painter to do something cool. So he did this thing based on The Wall by Pink Floyd. I don’t know anything about Pink Floyd. I don’t have any of their CDs. I don’t even know what some of the things here are. And they spelled my nickname wrong – there shouldn’t be an O.” (ESPN The Magazine, 1/21/02, p. 104)

    His first two seasons with Winnipeg were average; he posted easy-to-overlook numbers in his 79 games. During his first campaign after the team’s move to Phoenix, though, his numbers were more respectable — of 72 games, he hit a 30-33-6 record (with six ties, not O/T). That season saw him post a .908 SV% with 2.83 GAA and an impressive 7 SO. He appeared in 7 playoff games as well, collecting 3 wins, (1 shutout), 4 losses, and .932 SV%, while only allowing 2.11 goals against. The Coyotes lost 4 games to 3 at the hands (feathers) of the Ducks of Anaheim.

    In Khabibulin’s second season with the team, he again improved — showing fans that he was a strong force in the net. He finished with a 30-28-10 record, posting a .900 SV% with 2.74 GAA and 4 SO.

    The 184 goals allowed tied him for the league lead with Mike Richter of the N.Y. Rangers. He was sixth in saves and fifth in shots against.  If he had received some better offensive support, he may have looked even better.

    The ’97-’98 Coyotes scored 2.73 goals a game, and as of today (12/13/14) they are at a much lower 2.31. If the current team had Khabibulin’s numbers (2.73 GAA then vs. 3.28 GAA now), then — even with the 2.31 GF they’re averaging right now — they’d be in much better shape than they are right now.

    During his final season in Phoenix, Khabibulin statistically had his best year. With a 32-23-7 record,  .923 SV%, 2.13 GAA and 8 S/O, he did quite well across his sixty-three games.

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    • So well, in fact, that he was voted to the ’98 and ’99 All-Star Games for his performances.

    Unfortunately, good performances sometimes mean a demand for a higher payroll — because of his play, he felt he was worth more money, and sat out the entire ’99-’00 season holding out for a better contract. He and GM Bobby Smith couldn’t come to terms, and the team retained his rights while he signed to play with the IHL Long Beach Ice Dogs. He played 33 games for the Ice Dogs before Phoenix traded him — along with Stan Neckar — to Tampa Bay for Mike Johnson, Paul Mara, and Ruslan Zainullin on March 5, 2001.

    Although his tenure with the team ended on a somewhat sour note, Khabibulin played an integral part for the newly-relocated Coyotes, making some remarkable saves with a fairly porous defense and an offense that lacked substance on the backcheck.

    All in all, Khabibulin could be best described as a netminder any team would want — with his tremendous reflexes, he established himself as a force at stealing goals away from opposing players by challenging the shooter. He was a workhorse during the ’96-’97 season, starting 49 straight games without a breather.

    He was indeed a Bulin Wall — both over his career and during his time with the Phoenix Coyotes.

    Here’s a tribute done for Khabibulin, including a collection of photos done during his career.

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