Nikolai Khabibulin

News Conference from Feb. 8, 2002

Nikolai Khabibulin has played 48 games this season, tying him for fifth in games played by a goaltender in the NHL, Chicago's Jocelyn Thibault is the leader with 52. He has posted a 17-23-6 record with a goals-against average of 2.20. With seven shutouts, he's tied for the League lead with Patrick Roy, and his .929 save percentage ties him for the lead with Jose Theodore of Montreal.

Next week in Salt Lake City, he will perform in his second Olympic Games. He was the back-up goaltender in the 1992 Olympics in Albertville when the Unified team won Gold. Thanks to Nikolai for taking the time to take questions.

Q: A question about your memories of the 1992 team and the surprise when your coach decided that he was going to take your Gold medal? Can you take us through the memory of being there, and how you found out you weren't going to be receiving the medal after all?

Khabibulin: It was a great experience. You know, I think at that time I was 19-years old, and I don't really know how I made the team. I think there were better goaltenders in the league back then. But for whatever reason, I got there. We had a very good team there. We got the Gold medal. I didn't play any games, but I guess I had the best seat in the house with access to the locker room. So I was just watching all the games from the stands.

After the last game, once the final buzzer sounded, we won the game, everybody jumped on the ice, you know, hugging each other, doing whatever, celebrating. There was the final picture on the ice. I just got down to the bench and nobody really led me to the ice. I didn't feel like going there. I didn't really feel like I had a right to go there or whatever.

They had 23 medals, and everybody was getting one and since I wasn't there, nobody gave me one. Viktor Tikhonov, they gave it to him, or I can't remember exactly what happened. Anyway, I didn't even touch it. I didn't even have it in my hands.

Q: What are your emotions now that you're going to receive a replacement, he made a special point to give it to you? Was it a surprise and have you received it?

Khabibulin: I think it was a surprise because once so much time goes by, you don't really think that you're ever going to get it. At the beginning, I didn't really think about it because, you know, I didn't think that I deserved to be on the team. I didn't play any games. It's kind of like, well, I'm just happy that I was there.

Later on I kind of started to think about it. Lots of people just started to come to me, saying that, "You've been there, so you should have had it." I kind of started to think about it. This is the thing that stays with you for the rest of your life. You can pass it on to your kids and everything.

After a while, I started to think if I could ever get it, it would be unbelievable. Once Slava Fetisov became general manager, I think that was one of the things he wanted to do, is to get me that medal back or get the new one. So I'm not really sure whether it's the same one or the replacement. But from what I understand, I'm going to get it sometime before the Olympics.

Q: What are your feelings on the Evgeni Nabokov ruling with him not being allowed to play for Russia?

Khabibulin: I don't know all the details there. Definitely unfortunate. He's a very good goaltender. I think it would be great for the team and for him to be on the team. I'm really disappointed. But there are certain things that we cannot control. As of now, we can't really worry about it. Like I said, I'm disappointed, but there's nothing really I can do about it.

Q: Was that a distraction to the team, have him named initially and then taken off?

Khabibulin: I don't know whether it's distraction or not because we really haven't been together, so I can't really say that. I mean, if it would happen in a matter of a couple days when we were there, yeah, it probably would be. But right now, everybody who's there is just going to try to do their best.

Q: Are you excited about the possibility of being named alongside Tretiak as one of the greatest goalies in Russian history?

Khabibulin: That would be a huge honor. He's probably one of the best goaltenders of all time in the world. Being put with him in the same category would be unbelievable. I'm going to try to do my best and hopefully we'll get the Gold medal.

Q. Was he your hero? What other Russian goalies did you follow?

Khabibulin: Tretiak was the reason I start to play hockey. I never wanted to be a forward or defenseman. I wanted to be a goalie right from the beginning. I can't really remember the way he played any of the games, because he retired when I was 11 years old, I think. But what I remember is I was watching him, I wanted to be a goalie, and nothing else.

Q: As you come into this tournament, who do you see as the teams with the most firepower in this event? Who are the teams that worry you the most?

Khabibulin: Well, it's really hard to say anything about it because every team has NHL players, every team has great players. It's really hard to predict. Even Slovakia, they're playing in the preliminary. If you look at their lineup, it's very good, especially the forwards that they have there.

There's no really clear-cut favorite in this tournament. Especially if you go all the way, it's only a six-game tournament. Once you start playoffs, it's best of one. It's really hard to predict. So I don't think anyone can even say anything about it.

Q. Sounds like nobody worries you.

Khabibulin: Well, either that or everybody (laughter).

Q: Before Slava was named coach of the Russian team, there seemed to be grumbling amongst players about participating. How much does it affect you personally that he's in charge?

Khabibulin: I think that makes a big difference, not only for me but for everybody. Slava has been in the old system in the Soviet Union, and he played here. He has a tremendous amount of respect from players and fans. I think he played in different systems. He won pretty much anything that he could possibly win. So I think, you know, everybody's going to listen to what he has to say all the time. It's just such a big plus for the team to have him as a head guy there.

Q: Regarding Slava, here he's always depicted as this guy that took on the Russian system, made it possible for everyone to come over. Is that how you look at him or do you look at him as a friend, given the personal interest he's taken in you?

Khabibulin: Well, just like you say, he was the first guy that started to fight the system in the Soviet Union. You know, made it possible for everybody else to come here, so he deserves a lot of respect for that, too.

I mean, to me he's not really a friend, because he's a lot older, but, you know, I have a lot of respect for what he's done. I'm always - whenever I talk to him, I always listen to what he has to say because I think he's a very smart hockey person and, you know, he knows a lot, he knows a lot more than I do. I really listen to what he has to say.

Q: How do you look at your season?

Khabibulin: I guess it always could be worse, but it could be better. I mean, I wish our record was 28 wins and 20 losses, instead of 20 wins and 28 losses. But, you know, at the same time, what I see is guys working hard every game. Not really much more you can ask for. And I think we're improving a lot compared to last season. We just have to keep continuing to improve, just stay positive and keep working. I guess we'll see what happens.

Q: After not having played in the NHL a couple years, did you have so much to prove this year?

Khabibulin: It's not that I had so much to prove this year, I don't think. I never had any doubts about my ability to play. I just thought that I would, you know, come in and play hard, you know, just kind of try to enjoy and see what happens. I knew that I would do pretty well - maybe not right from the beginning, but as I would play more, I knew I would start playing better.

Q: Some of the Canadian players have kind of put a stiff upper lip, been a little bit critical of Patrick Roy's decision not to play. What are your decisions about the Russians who decided not to play for the Olympic team?

Khabibulin: I can't really say much about it because I don't know what the reasons are. Every player might have different reasons, and I don't know what they are, so I cannot criticize or support anybody in that. They're all grown men. They have their own brains. So, you know, they can do whatever they decide to do. I mean, nothing really I can say about it.

Q: How big of an honor is it to be the unquestioned goalie, having been there as the third goalie in the past?

Khabibulin: I'm very excited, very honored. I'm looking forward to go there, put the Russian jersey on.

 

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