Former Oilers goaltender coming out of retirement at 50 years old
Just a few days after Jaromir Jagr announced his return to professional hockey for his Czech Republic team, a former Oilers goaltender is shocking the hockey world in a similar return in his older years. Announced on Twitter moments ago, Nikolai Khabibulin will be coming out of retirement to join Torpedo of the KHL.
Khabibulin had himself a legendary career as an NHL goalie, playing an impressive 799 career games between five different teams. He was drafted in the ninth round of the 1992 NHL draft by the Winnipeg Jets, and went on to record 333 career wins, with a 2.72 GAA and .907 save percentage over his career.
Khabibulin hasn't played professional hockey since ending his NHL career with the Blackhawks in the 2013-14 season. To make a comeback to pro hockey almost ten years out of retirement is a crazy feat for the goaltender. It's commendable for his perseverance, but also questionable as to how good he'll actually be in the net. Now about to turn 51 years old, Khabibulin is trying to prove to the hockey world that he still has it.
| POLL | ||
Who was your favourite Oilers goalie in the last ten years? | ||
| Mike Smith | 201 | 42.3 % |
| Stuart Skinner | 85 | 17.9 % |
| Nikolai Khabibulin | 79 | 16.6 % |
| None/Other | 110 | 23.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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