Spartans Beat The Deadline
St. Louis - Spartans general manager Sean Gallagher publicly stated that he was looking to address certain issues leading up to this week's trade deadline. On Monday he checked off one of the open boxes on his list, adding goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin to his roster. He joins longtime starter Evgeni Nabokov as a netminding tandem that the Spartans hope can drive them deep into the playoffs this year.
"Some would call this controversial," admitted Gallagher at his press conference, "But it really isn't. Evgeni [Nabokov] is in his fourth straight year as starter here and his fifth year in his career. He's our Franchise Player. Nothing has changed with any of that. Nikolai [Khabibulin], on the other hand, is an unrestricted free agent this summer. He is a rental player and he knows that. But he also knows that he's an important rental player. We expect him to share the load down the stretch and to be ready to jump in at a moment's notice if required in the playoffs."
The Spartans had to find a backup goaltender they could trust to play against stiffer competition as Nabokov has appeared in 59 of the team's 63 games this season. Khabibulin, for his part, has played in 48 games this season too. The ability for the two similar players to share time should keep them fresher heading into the playoffs.
Gallagher admitted that he likely was not done dealing this week saying that there are still positions he'd be looking to upgrade.
"What do I always tell you all?" he asked the media, "I'm always looking."
The Spartans play on Tuesday in Winnipeg. It remains to be seen if their new goaltender will make it there in time to suit up the Russian tandem for the game.
"Some would call this controversial," admitted Gallagher at his press conference, "But it really isn't. Evgeni [Nabokov] is in his fourth straight year as starter here and his fifth year in his career. He's our Franchise Player. Nothing has changed with any of that. Nikolai [Khabibulin], on the other hand, is an unrestricted free agent this summer. He is a rental player and he knows that. But he also knows that he's an important rental player. We expect him to share the load down the stretch and to be ready to jump in at a moment's notice if required in the playoffs."
The Spartans had to find a backup goaltender they could trust to play against stiffer competition as Nabokov has appeared in 59 of the team's 63 games this season. Khabibulin, for his part, has played in 48 games this season too. The ability for the two similar players to share time should keep them fresher heading into the playoffs.
Gallagher admitted that he likely was not done dealing this week saying that there are still positions he'd be looking to upgrade.
"What do I always tell you all?" he asked the media, "I'm always looking."
The Spartans play on Tuesday in Winnipeg. It remains to be seen if their new goaltender will make it there in time to suit up the Russian tandem for the game.
St. Louis Spartans