Khabibulin: busted in Arizona
14 years ago
Recovering from season-ending back surgery isn’t the only challenge facing Nikolai Khabibulin these days. Khabibulin is also in trouble with the law after being charged with driving under the influence and speeding in Scottsdale, Arizona back on Feb. 8.
Here’s an account of the charges against Khabibulin, first reported on an Arizona blog, by Curtis Stock of the Edmonton Journal.
"Edmonton Oiler goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has been arrested in Arizona on charges of driving under the influence and speeding.Khabibulin, who had season-ending back surgery on Jan. 14, was arrested by Scottsdale police on Feb. 8. After agreeing to take the standard Field Sobriety Test as well as consenting to take a blood test, Khabibulin was cited for a blood level alcohol content of .08 or more. He was also charged with exceeding the speed limit by more than 20 miles per hour.Radar clocked Khabibulin driving his black Ferrari 70 mph in a 45-mph zone, the police report says."
OILERS TIGHT-LIPPED
I put in a phone call to Khabibulin’s New York-based agent, Jay Grossman, after the story broke this afternoon, but didn’t get a reply from him before posting this.
Oilers president of hockey operations Kevin Lowe, in Vancouver for the Olympics, was asked about the situation on Oilers Lunch, hosted by Bob Stauffer.
Said Lowe: "Well, we’re just hearing about it ourselves actually, quite frankly unfortunately. So, we really don’t have too much to say until we get the full details.
"We’ve been trying to track down Nikolai, who is, like a lot of guys, or most guys, on a holiday during the Olympics. Hopefully, it’s not the case, but if it is confirmed, (we’d) be very disappointed that we’re just finding out this way.
"Like I say, we’ll just defer any comment until we talk to him ourselves."
Obviously, neither Khabibulin nor Grossman saw fit to contact the Oilers to inform the team of the charges.
— Listen to Robin Brownlee every Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TEAM 1260.
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