Mark Spector

Mark Spector is a columnist for sportsnet.ca

Nikolai Khabibulin's appeal of his 30 day sentence means no end to a messy situation for the Oilers.

EDMONTON - He should have taken a Khab.

But Nikolai Khabibulin drove drunk instead. Very drunk.

And on Tuesday, instead of taking his medicine and helping to clear the cloud that hangs over the Edmonton Oilers upcoming training camp, Khabibulin appealed his extreme drunk driving conviction, drawing out this messy situation for who knows how long?

"It could take months, for what I understand," a disappointed looking Oilers GM Steve Tambellini said of the appeal process. "Obviously this is the decision that he made. Who knows where it goes from here?"

This is what happened inside the "Turm-Oilers" tumultuous world on Tuesday:

Khabibulin’s legal team, seeing where previous impaired driving convictions in Arizona drew 10-day sentences for basketball stars Charles Barkley and Stephon Marbury, opted to appeal, we suspect to take another run at convincing a Scottsdale judge to shave a few digits off of the goalie’s .164 blood alcohol content (BAC) when he pulled over after Super Bowl Sunday.

That BAC reading ups the pickled puck-stopper’s conviction to an Extreme DUI, after being nailed for speeding in the early hours on Feb. 8 with a BAC of more than twice the legal limit. So where Barkley’s 10-day sentence results in less than three days in jail, Khabibulin’s 30-day sentence would mean a couple of weeks in Sherriff Joe Arpiao’s tent city, complete with the pink underwear.

Also, the appeal buys Khabibulin time to complete a dependency program that will also shorten sentence. Tambellini said Tuesday that his free agent signing has (or will) enter the NHL-NHLPA substance abuse program.

So Khabibulin has nothing to lose by appealing.

But the Oilers?

Instead of Khabibulin entering jail on Saturday, and quite possibly being out by the time Edmonton hosts its first pre-season game on Sept. 23, this story will now hang over the team for who knows how long?

Khabibulin will be there for camp, and will start the season as their No.1, unless the distraction of the court case erodes his game. Imagine living with a possible prison term — no matter how short — hanging over your head? Not to mention attending rehab, a process that could severely affect Khabibulin’s ability to perform.

Then in November, December, January, maybe February or March, the appeal will be heard and the dice will be rolled once more in Scottsdale.

Maybe Khabibulin’s lawyers will be successful, and he’ll serve his time over a three-day stretch without missing a game.

Or the opposite could occur: The Oilers will have put up with this distraction all season long, and then lose their starting goalie for most of January, February or March.

It’s a gamble Khabibulin is willing to take, and a gamble the Oilers will be forced to join him in.

As it turns out, the whole Nikolai Khabibulin experience has been one big gamble for Edmonton. He was hurt for most of last season, and now this, at the precise moment when this organization was looking forward to turning over a new leaf.

There is tangible promise in an Oiler lineup that is still several years away, but will bring in Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson and other highly thought of prospects this fall. Edmonton was 30th last season and suffered a franchise-record number of injuries, but with some health and these bright young players, the opening of 2010-11 season has a real kick to it in this town.

Hovering over this training camp, however, will be two stories that will detract from the rebirth. Khabibulin is one, and it looks like Sheldon Souray will be another.

Tambellini and Souray are, as GMs and players go, mortal enemies. The GM has put the player on waivers, peddling him furiously over the past five months to no avail.

And unless something happens the Souray story will go neck and neck with the slammer-bound goalie story as the Oilers season opens. The defenceman gives his GM a hard time, and the goalie might yet do some hard time. Great.

Welcome to the National Hockey League Taylor, Magnus and Jordan, and fasten your seat belts. Turbulence may occur.