Habby trails

Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin leaves the '04 champions for Chicago and $27-million.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published August 6, 2005

	[Times photo (2004): Dirk Shadd]
	Nikolai Khabibulin makes a save against the Rangers during the first round of the 2003-04 playoffs, when he led the Lightning to its first Stanley Cup championship. The newly negotiated salary cap made it difficult for Tampa Bay to retain Khabibulin.

TAMPA - Jay Feaster was not going to sugarcoat the painful truth.

The Lightning general manager had just announced to the crowd attending the team's open house at the St. Pete Times Forum that goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, one of the key performers in 2004's run to the Stanley Cup, had signed with the Blackhawks.

The fans moaned, and Feaster said, "Is this a setback? It is."

But those are the consequences of the new collective bargaining agreement that put a $39-million cap on salaries.

Chicago gave Khabibulin a four-year deal worth $27-million, $6.75-million a season, which makes him the NHL's highest-paid goalie.

The Lightning, struggling to also fit Vinny Lecavalier, league MVP Martin St. Louis and Dan Boyle into its budget, offered $5.5-million a season in packages of three, four and five years.

"It's quite a contract," Feaster said of Chicago's offer. "It's something we couldn't match. In order for us to do what we have to do to keep this team together as much as we can, mathematically it was impossible."

"We really wanted to make it work with Tampa," Khabibulin's agent Jay Grossman said. "We understood the difficulties we faced and respected that.

"We simply looked for the best combination of playing with a competitive team and at the same time getting the financial compensation justified based on what Nik has accomplished."

And though Grossman said it wasn't part of the considerations, Khabibulin, 32, gets to work with legendary Russian goaltender Vladislav Tretiak, whom Khabibulin idolized growing up in Sverdlovsk and who is the Blackhawks' goaltending consultant.

He also joins former Lightning defenseman Jassen Cullimore, who signed with Chicago last summer.

"Definitely disappointing," Lecavalier said. "He's a big part of the club, a big reason we won the Stanley Cup. To see him go is very sad."

"It's just the way it is with the cap," center Brad Richards said. "In a perfect world we could all come back and try to win it again, but people have to make their own decisions."

Khabibulin's departure should be the catalyst for a chain of events that might shape the Lightning for years to come.

Feaster now has more flexibility to sign Lecavalier, St. Louis and Boyle. It also sets the stage for an interesting fight for the No. 1 goalie spot.

John Grahame, Khabibulin's backup, has the early lead. But Feaster said the team will bring in a goalie for a preseason competition that should be intense.

It is believed unrestricted free agent Sean Burke, last with the Flyers, is at the top of the list.

Other available free agents include Mike Dunham, Curtis Joseph, Chris Osgood, Ron Tugnutt, Byron Dafoe, Felix Potvin and Trevor Kidd.

There also could be a trade. Feaster, knowing Khabibulin could bolt, said he began laying the groundwork for deals at last month's draft in Ottawa.

As for signing Lecavalier, St. Louis and Boyle, coach John Tortorella said there is much work to do.

"The bank vault just doesn't open up here now because we haven't signed Nik," he said. "We still have a budget to be concerned about. We still have long term to look at. We're not going to start pouring money to these guys just to get them signed. Again, I say market value vs. team value. Then we'll find out where these guys are going to be."

Khabibulin struggled at times during the 2003-04 regular season but still won 28 games and set a team record with a 2.33 goals-against average. He was 16-7 in the playoffs with a 1.71 goals-against average and was second in the MVP voting behind Richards.

Grossman said the lines of communication were always open during negotiations. Still, Feaster said he had no chance to match Chicago's offer.

"He called and asked us to make another offer," Feaster said. "There was an opportunity to make an offer not knowing what was out there."

Grossman said Khabibulin's decision was not all about money, and both he and his client credited Chicago, with one playoff appearance the past seven seasons, for the recent signings of defensemen Adrian Aucoin and Jaroslav Spacek and winger Martin Lapointe.

"I like what the Blackhawks have done," Khabibulin said from Belarus during a conference call. "I really like the direction they're going. I've won the Stanley Cup and I want to do it again."

The extra $5-million he will earn over the length of the contract compared to Tampa Bay's offer doesn't hurt.

"The Blackhawks," Khabibulin said, "had the best offer."

And the Lightning has memories of a player who in three seasons plus two games set almost every significant team goaltending record.

"When Nik Khabibulin came to this franchise, he put the legs under the team," Feaster said. "He gave us the opportunity to win day in and day out. ... I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for what he has accomplished here here. I would have preferred he look at this and said, "We could win it again,' and stayed and made it work for everybody."

[Last modified August 6, 2005, 01:36:22]