Nikolai Khabibulin would be wise to watch out for his 'five hole'

And by “five hole,” I mean that Edmonton Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who was found guilty on two counts of impaired driving as well as an excessive speeding charge in a Scottsdale, Arizona courtroom Friday and could be sentenced to at least 30 days in jail, I mean he should…well, you know what I mean.
Khabibulin will be formally sentenced on Tuesday and could be forced to serve his time in the infamous “Tent City,” the brainchild of tough-as-nails Sheriff Joe Arpaio, where inmates live in tents and perform manual labor under the intense desert sun, among other indignities, including but not limited to being forced to wear pink panties. Yeah.

Even if the 37-year-old, 14-year NHL veteran receives only the minimum sentence of 30 days, that would prevent “The Bulin Wall” from attending the first two weeks of Edmonton’s training camp, along with several exhibition games, putting the Oilers in a precarious position regarding their battery of goaltenders, considering the team’s regular season begins October 7th. One option for the Oilers is to void Khabibulin’s contract and allow the team and goalie to go their separate ways: the Oilers to embark on their regular season campaign with backup Jeff Deslauriers taking over and Khabibulin, doing hard time in the “pokey,” so to speak.
Via the Edmonton Journal:

There are clauses in standard players’ contracts for conduct unbecoming to a team that theoretically could void a contract, although the Oilers weren’t talking about that on Friday. They certainly aren’t happy with Khabibulin’s behaviour after he was pulled over in his black Ferrari Feb. 8 in Paradise Valley, a Scottsdale suburb. He faces jail time, possibly a fine and alcohol-related rehabilitation classes.

“You definitely shouldn’t drink and drive … at the end of the day, what excuse is there?” said a high-powered NHL agent, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“But this isn’t a heinous crime. It’s not like he shot his neighbour and he’s being charged with murder.”
The agent doesn’t believe a team would challenge the conduct clause over impaired driving. If a team did that, the NHL Players’ Association would likely file a grievance.

If the Oilers do elect to attempt to void their contract with the troubled Russian, the process should be expected to be long and drawn out process. Kind of like spending 30 days in the dastardly Tent City. Jeepers.
In the end, at least Khabibulin has one thing going for him: 30 days in Tent City is a far better fate than doing time in a gulag in Siberia. So he’s got that going for him, which is good.
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Jim Matheson: Oilers stuck with tough goaltending decisions ahead [Edmonton Journal]