As endings go, this one seemed destined for unhappy. The words were all wrong. Too many deeds, it appeared, had gone undone.
When it came to Nikolai Khabibulin and the Lightning, the question was whether to say goodbye in advance or merely wave when it was done.
So it is with some surprise we arrive at this thought today:
The Lightning, absolutely, must pick up Khabibulin's option for next season.
This should be a formality, not a decision. It need not be discussed, debated or dissected. Just demanded.
You know, it would have been easy for Lightning general manager Jay Feaster to look for ways to deal Khabibulin after the goalie was benched during last season's playoffs. Yet Feaster stood by him.
The general manager may well have been applauded had he traded Khabibulin during a slump earlier this season. But, once again, Feaster made the right call by sticking with the franchise's centerpiece.
And soon he will be asked a final time to protect the interests of this team by giving Khabibulin a salary as large as any Lightning player has had.
It has to be done.
"Some time ago, back in one of my 1,500 interviews saying we weren't going to trade Nik, I was quoted to the effect that all things being equal we would expect to exercise our option," Feaster said. "I still feel that way."
Saying you have every intention of bringing Khabibulin back next season is not quite the same thing as saying Khabibulin will be back.
For now, however, that is the best Feaster can do. His team still is in the playoffs, his budget for next season presumably is still being decided.
But if the past three weeks have taught us anything, it is that Feaster was absolutely correct when he insisted a team would be foolish to allow one of the league's best goaltenders out of its grasp.
At the time he was saying it, the argument was harder to buy. Underachiever was one way to describe Khabibulin. Overpaid was another.
During the regular season, he was average on most nights and somewhat shy of that on others. Backup John Grahame was playing better than Khabibulin, and the team was winning at a greater pace when he was in the net.
All of which made Khabibulin's $6.5-million option for next season appear to be a luxury a tight-fisted organization could not afford.
Fortunately, Feaster and coach John Tortorella were not worrying about 2004-05. They were focused on this postseason. And they knew a hot Khabibulin was the best way this team could reach the Eastern Conference final.
"While we obviously have a very strong group in terms of what we're able to do offensively and our defense is very underrated as a group, you don't go anywhere in the postseason without goaltending, You just don't," Feaster said. "Your goaltender needs to be your best player night in and night out.
"And certainly, to this point, Nik's been our best player."
Which is why the option should not be optional. If it were true for Khabibulin in 2003-04, it should be true for next season as well.
The contract, while large, is not ridiculous. Khabibulin made $4.5-million in base salary this season and got a $1-million bonus when the team made the playoffs. So $6.5-million, with no bonus in the deal, is not a large leap.
It is true the Lightning will be hard-pressed to keep this team intact. The payroll could jump as much as $10-million to $15-million in the offseason. With an ownership group that claims to be losing money on a daily basis, there will undoubtedly be corners cut when it comes to preserving the roster.
Even so, Khabibulin has proved his value in the past few weeks. Martin St. Louis, Vinny Lecavalier, Brad Richards and the rest of the forwards drove the Lightning to a No. 1 seed, but Khabibulin has helped keep Tampa Bay on top.
He tied an NHL record with three shutouts in the first series against the Islanders and looked even better against the Canadiens.
"Our goalie was the biggest difference (against Montreal)," defenseman Dan Boyle said. "Without him, it's a different series."
He can be maddening. He can dazzle one night and infuriate the next. His skills have never been questioned, but his moods are always an issue.
Two months ago, it was fair to question his worth to the organization. In the past three weeks, he has made the point moot.
Khabibulin saw his reputation zipping past and did what any great goaltender would. He stopped it. Glove, stick, pad? Doesn't matter. What counts is he kept it from getting beyond his control.
And, in a sense, it is his most remarkable save yet.
