TOUGH TO BREAK DOWN THIS WALL GOALIE KHABIBULIN TAKES DIFFERENT PATH TO SUCCESS.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

Sure, Nikolai Khabibulin walks a different path, but it works. So why would anyone doubt him now?

Many hockey followers considered him off his rocker six-plus years ago, when Khabibulin - then one of the NHL's best young goalies with the Phoenix Coyotes and still known as the `` `Bulin Wall'' - sat out most of two seasons because of a contract dispute and at one point suited up for the minor-league Long Beach Ice Dogs.

And how did that turn out? With a trade to Tampa Bay and, three years later, a Stanley Cup.

``You can't argue with that,'' Khabibulin, 32, said with a smile this week.

But some did. Greedy, many called the goalie back then, and again in August when Khabibulin spurned less-lucrative contract offers from the Lightning and other more competitive teams to sign a four-year, $27.6-million deal with the Chicago Blackhawks, who won the fewest games in the NHL in 2003-04.

So far, the situation has played out the way most expected. Khabibulin slumped early and although there have been signs of improvement all around, the Blackhawks will be hard-pressed to make the playoffs.

``I knew it would be a challenge,'' said Khabibulin, who enters tonight's game against the Kings with a 3.42 goals-against average. ``I liked the direction that the Blackhawks were taking, so here I am.''

There he is, seemingly in a world of his own. Some tout Khabibulin's confidence, while some suggest he is aloof and only signed with the Blackhawks because they offered him the most money. Jeremy Roenick, a former teammate, calls Khabibulin ``an odd bird'' but also professes great respect for the goalie.

``I guess Nik doesn't always follow the traditional route,'' said Chicago defenseman Jassen Cullimore, who also played four years in Tampa Bay with Khabibulin. ``Not to stereotype, but I think maybe that's part of him being European; they tend to do things a little differently. He stands up for what he believes in.

``When he sat out for the year, he was standing up for himself and he thought he deserved what he wanted and that was it. Some people might say he's selfish or this or that, but what you've got to realize is that's a good attribute to have, to stand up for yourself and believe in yourself.''

That hasn't been easy this year. On the night last month when the Lightning raised its Stanley Cup banner, the one Khabibulin helped win with a stellar playoff run that included five shutouts, the Blackhawks opened their season with a 5-3 home loss to the Mighty Ducks, and the trouble was only beginning.

Salary-cap issues handcuffed the Lightning's ability to re-sign Khabibulin this summer, but they made an effort to keep him, and talented teams such as the Detroit Red Wings also made a push, but the day he signed his contract, Khabibulin acknowledged that the Blackhawks ``made the best offer.''

``I'm not going to lie, (money) was certainly a part of it,'' Khabibulin said. ``But besides that, you want to be in a situation where you feel that things are improving and are going to improve. I don't care how much money you make as a player, you want to be in a good situation and I think we can improve here.

``Our goal is to ultimately win the Cup one day.''

Khabibulin has been there, although some questioned whether he could ever take a team to that level. There were whispers about his mental toughness, suggestions former teammates dispute.

``He's not as intense as most goaltenders would be,'' Roenick said, ``but with him it's just sort of an attitude. It's confidence. I think he has the ability to go out there and never be nervous, because he trusts himself immensely. That confidence in himself is what makes him so good.''

It's also what led to the previous round of criticism Khabibulin had to endure.

A restricted free agent in the summer of 1999, Khabibulin had just turned in a season with a 2.13 GAA, eight shutouts and a second consecutive All-Star Game appearance. After just five seasons, he held the Phoenix/Winnipeg career record with 21 shutouts.

Khabibulin got into a contract dispute, however, didn't play again until March 2000, after the trade. To stay in shape, Khabibulin played 33 games for the Ice Dogs, who then were in the International Hockey League - hockey's equivalent of baseball's Triple-A - as contract negotiations went nowhere.

``He was very professional the whole time,'' said Kings assistant coach John Van Boxmeer, who then served as coach of the Ice Dogs. ``I think it was a pride factor for him. He felt he was worth a certain amount of money and he wasn't going to compromise.''

That episode only confirmed that Khabibulin marches to his own beat. To outsiders he can be seen as cold and withdrawn, although it isn't unusual for goalies, by nature, to be a little different.

``I played with Eddie (Belfour), and they used to say the same things about him,'' former Lightning defenseman Brad Lukowich told the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times during the 2004 playoff run. ``He'd be on his end of the ice doing his own thing. Then the game would start, and he'd be unbeatable.

``That's the way it is with Habby now. If he wants a day off, give him a day off. If he wants to get in some work, let him get in some work. If he wants a steak, then by God, somebody get him a steak.''

But is Khabibulin merely quirky, or did he compromise this time, by signing with an inferior team?

Khabibulin, who reveals little in interviews, claims to be immune from the talk that he simply sold himself to the highest bidder with little regard for winning.

``Personally, I haven't heard anything, so I don't really worry about any criticism,'' Khabibulin said.

It's worth noting the Tampa Bay team Khabibulin joined late in the 2001 season finished with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference and appeared to be headed nowhere fast.

Everyone knows how that turned out, so maybe Khabibulin knows more than everyone thinks.

``My priorities haven't changed,'' Khabibulin said. ``When I won the Cup, it felt so good. It's really unexplainable how it feels, so I want to experience it again.''

And if that happens, nobody ever will question Khabibulin again.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(1 -- color) no caption (Nikolai Khabibulin)

(2 -- color) no caption (Nikolai Khabibulin)

Photos by Getty Images

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SOME NIK KNACKS