Nikolai Khabibulin: Oilers' Goalie Gets 30 Days in Jail for DUI

Nikolai Khabibulin has been issued a 30-day jail sentence, plus a fine, for his actions in February 2010. For those who don't know, he was clocked doing 70 mph in a 40 mph zone with a BAC of .164, twice the legal limit in Arizona.

The NHL, like other sports, has had it's issue with their superstars mixing alcohol and fast cars. Here's a list of NHLers that Khabibulin now joins in regards to those problems.

Pelle Lindbergh

Lindbergh was killed in an automobile accident in November 1985, when the Porsche he was driving crashed into a wall in New Jersey. His BAC was, like Khabibulin's, over twice the legal amount for the state he was in.

Dany Heatley

While driving his Ferrari in 2003, Heatley lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a wall. The collision threw his passenger, Dan Snyder, from the vehicle. Unfortunately, Snyder succumbed to his injuries less than a week later. Although Heatley's BAC was below the legal limit, one can be intoxicated and be under the legal limit.

Bob Probert

Probert had many demons in his life, one of which was alcohol. In 1994, he was arrested after a motorcycle accident in Montreal, whereupon it was discovered that his BAC was more than three times the legal limit in Quebec. It was also revealed that there was cocaine in his bloodstream. His struggles with alcohol would plague him for most of his life.

Tim Horton

Tim Horton, whose name is synonymous with coffee in Canada, died in a car crash in 1974. His Italian sports car hit a concrete barrier at 100 mph. Horton had a BAC of twice the legal limit, and, presumably, was taking painkillers. His death occured the morning after his Sabres played the Leafs, and he was on his way home.

Steve Chiasson

Another enforcer like Probert, Chiasson, the night that his team was eliminated from the playoffs, crashed his truck and died from the injuries he sustained. His BAC was more than three times the legal limit in North Carolina.

There are other stories as well involving alcohol and car crashes in NHL history. Most Red Wing fans recall when Vladimir Konstantinov was critically injured and permanently brain damaged when his limo driver, who had a suspended license and was intoxicated, crashed after the Wings were celebrating a Stanley Cup triumph. More recently, former NHLer Rob Ramage was sentenced to four years in prison after the rental car he crashed while intoxicated, killed former teammate Keith Magnusson.

Fortunately, Khabibulin's actions didn't end up injuring anyone. The fine will be chump change to him and he may never actually see jail time. But does this raise a bigger question for athletes? Does the NHL need to take a stance on alcohol abuse? The league conducts tests for performance enhancing drugs. But, should Gary Bettman, Bill Daly, and the rest of the NHL bigwigs be concerned about alcoholism in their sport? Should they do anything? Can they do anything?

Unfortunately, society, sports fans in particular, has turned the professional athlete into a superstar, a hero, a role model. Children love and adore their superstars. They emulate and imitate them. This instance will tarnish Nikolai Khabibulin's image; there's no question about that. It's probably made the NHL look bad as well. Some, like myself, will find it ironic, maybe even a tad humorous, that with all of the problems that the NHL has with the Coyotes, Khabibulin had to get arrested in Arizona.

Is this a serious enough problem that the NHL has to deal with it? Or, is it just one drunk Soviet having too much poteha (Russian: fun) with his comrades?