The Olympic and Stanley Cup winner jumps from the coaching department back to the playing circle.
Nikolai Habibul helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2003-2004. EPA / AOP
KHL’s Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod has signed a player contract with veteran goalkeeper Nikolai Habibulin, 50. The club announced the contract with Habibulin on Wednesday.
Habibulin has worked as Torpedo’s goalkeeper coach until now. He played his last official match ten years ago, when he saved the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL with a goal in four games in the 2013-2014 season.
Torpedo boss Alexander Kharlamov says the deal was made for sporting reasons. He also cites the media attention brought by Habibulin as the reason.
– Everyone noticed how much attention Spartak (Moscow) gathered after signing the contract Ilya Kovalchuk with. Now we have two excellent goalkeepers, Adam Huska and Ivan Kulbakovbut a third goalkeeper and an experienced backup option is not a disadvantage, Harlamov says in the club’s press release.
Habibulin played a successful career with the Chicago, Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Phoenix Coyotes and Winnipeg Jets between 1995 and 2014. He played a total of 799 NHL games.
Habibul was the first Russian goalkeeper to win the Stanley Cup in Tampa Bay. In the Russian national team, he has won Olympic gold in 1992 and Olympic bronze in 2002.