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For much of the 2000s, the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks were perennial playoff contenders in the NHL’s Western Conference, with the Flames even making a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Though both teams were led by offensive stars such as Jarome Iginla (Calgary) and Joe Thornton (San Jose), each was also backstopped by an outstanding goalie in Miikka Kiprusoff and Evgeni Nabokov, respectively. The two European goalies were workhorses for much of the decade who often competed against each other, both in the NHL and on the international stage; throw in their overlapping careers and near parallel paths to stardom, and it is only a natural question to ask:
Who was better – Miikka Kiprusoff or Evgeni Nabokov?
The Beginning
Interestingly, both Kiprusoff and Nabokov were drafted by the Sharks, with the former actually backing up the latter before getting his opportunity to shine with the Flames.
A native of Finland, Kiprusoff initially played hockey for his hometown team TPS in the Finnish junior league before he was selected 116th overall by San Jose in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. Before coming over to the NHL, he played for both TPS and AIK IF of the Swedish Elite League at the professional level, leading TPS to the Finnish Elite League title and winning both the Urpo Ylonen Trophy as top goalie and the Jari Kurri Trophy as playoff MVP. Upon his arrival in North America, Kiprusoff played a couple of seasons for the Sharks’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Kentucky Thoroughblades before making his NHL debut in 2001 as Nabokov’s backup. However, overall during his three seasons with the Sharks, Kiprusoff was used sparingly as a backup, playing a grand total of 47 games (though he did finish 10th for the Calder Trophy as top rookie in 2001-2002); after being relegated to third-string status, he was traded in late 2003 to the Calgary Flames for a second-round draft pick.
Similarly, Nabokov grew up in the former Soviet Union in what is now Kazakhstan and played for his local team, Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk. A year ahead of Kiprusoff, he was drafted 219th overall in the ninth round of the 1994 NHL Entry draft by the Sharks, though spent three seasons playing for HC Dynamo Moscow before coming over to play in the AHL for the Kentucky Thoroughblades and later, the Cleveland Lumberjacks in the International Hockey League (IHL). Initially a back-up to Steve Shields, Nabokov played briefly for San Jose during the 1999-2000 season (11 games) before taking over as the starter early in the 2000-2001 season – with a 32-21-7 record, 2.19 GAA, .915 SV%, and 6 shutouts (good for an 88 GA-, which is a relative measure vs. league-wide scoring indexed to 100; lower is better) as a rookie, he not only won the Calder Trophy, but also finished fourth for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender.
Career Comparison
Throughout the 2000s, Kiprusoff and Nabokov were both among the most consistently excellent goalies in the NHL, with each an annual contender to win 30-40 games and finish at or near the top of the voting for the Vezina Trophy.
As the Flames’ unquestioned starting goaltender, Kiprusoff quickly established himself as a workhorse – in his first season with Calgary in 2003-2004, he went 24-10-4 with a league-leading 1.69 GAA (76 GA%-; the 1.69 GAA was also a modern NHL record) and .933 SV%, as well as 4 shutouts to earn Vezina Trophy runner-up to Martin Brodeur and fourth for the Hart Trophy as league MVP. During the subsequent lockout, he went to Sweden and plied his trade with Timra before continuing his NHL dominance in 2005-2006: with a franchise-record 42-20-11 record, a league-leading 2.07 GAA (78 GA%-), a .923 SV%, and a league-leading 10 shutouts, he won both the Vezina and Jennings Trophies while also finishing third for the Hart. As an encore, Kiprusoff was almost as good, going 40-24-9 with a 2.46 GAA (87 GA%-), a .917 SV%, and 7 shutouts in 2006-2007 for another top-three Vezina finish.
During the mid to late-2000s, Kiprusoff was consistently among the league’s top netminders, posting seven consecutive seasons of 30+ wins (including 40+ wins 3x). Notably, in 2008-2009, he led the league with a career-best 45-24-5 record and placed eighth for the Vezina Trophy, though saw his peripheral numbers balloon to a 2.84 GAA (106 GA%-) and a .903 SV%. The next year, despite leading the league with 28 losses (35-28-10), Kiprusoff nevertheless had a sparkling 2.31 GAA (90 GA%-) and .920 SV% and another top-10 Vezina finish. A final top-10 Vezina season (seventh) and the milestone of 300 career wins came in 2011-2012 on the strength of a 35-22-11 record, 2.35 GAA (92 GA%-), .921 SV%, and 4 shutouts; however, the wear and tear of playing 70+ games seven straight years began to take its toll – limited by a knee injury to just 24 games played, Kiprusoff retired at the 2012-2013 season at age 36 as the Flames’ career leader in games played, wins, and shutouts.
Meanwhile, coming off his superb rookie season, Nabokov continued his elite netminding in 2001-2002 with a 37-24-5 record, 2.29 GAA (89 GA%-), .918 SV%, and 7 shutouts to again finish fourth for the Vezina; fun trivia fact, that season, he became one of a select group of goalies to score a goal in a game and was the first to do so on the power play. However, he regressed significantly the following year with just a 19-28-8 record and peripherals of a 2.71 GAA (103 GA%-) and a .906 SV%. Nevertheless, Nabokov quickly bounced back in 2003-2004 with a 31-19-8 record, 2.21 GAA (89 GA%-), .921 SV%, and a career-best 9 shutouts to finish sixth in Vezina voting.
Following the lockout in 2004-2005, Nabokov once again faltered to a losing record with an ugly GAA above 3.00 (3.10) and a sub-.900 SV% (.885) and would essentially split starts with backup Vesa Toskala for the next couple of seasons. Once again, though, he rebounded to form and had three consecutive 40+ win and top-five Vezina seasons at the end of the decade:
- 2007-2008: a league-best and career-best 46-21-8 record with a career-low 2.14 GAA (100 GA%-), .910 SV%, and 6 shutouts; second for the Vezina to Brodeur and seventh for the Hart
- 2008-2009: 41-12-8 record with a 2.44 GAA (99 GA%-), .910 SV%, and 7 shutouts; fifth for the Vezina
- 2009-2010: 44-16-10 record with a 2.43 GAA (88 GA%-), a career-best .922 SV%, and 3 shutouts; fourth for the Vezina
Nabokov became an unrestricted free agent after the 2009-2010 and due to San Jose’s salary cap issues, ended up signing with SKS St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Following a lackluster season, he was released and initially signed with the Detroit Red Wings, but had to pass through waivers first and was instead claimed by the New York Islanders. Overall, during three up-and-down seasons with the Islanders, Nabokov made roughly 40 starts a year with average results, though did win his 300th career game in an Islanders uniform. Post the 2013-2014 season, he signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 2014-2015 season, though only appeared in 11 games before being waived; he was eventually traded back to the Sharks midseason, but never suited up again and ultimately retired from the NHL later that season at age 39.
Coming into the NHL a season earlier while earning the starting role first and playing a couple more seasons, Nabokov accordingly has the better career counting stats, i.e. more wins (and more losses) with more shutouts (59 to 44). At the same, he posted more 30-win seasons (7x to 6x) than Kiprusoff with a slightly better career GAA (2.44 to 2.49); on the other hand, however, Kiprusoff had a better career SV% (.912 to .911) and GA%- (96 to 98) with an equal number of 40-win seasons (3x apiece). Moreover, when it comes to awards and accolades, though Nabokov won the Calder Trophy as top rookie and made more All-Star Games (2 to 1), it is Kiprusoff who won both a Vezina and Jennings Trophy. As to the Hall of Fame question, both goalies are relatively borderline candidates – outstanding for roughly a decade each, but not quite the best goalies of their generation in terms of either longevity or peak performance, e.g. Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, etc.
Regular Season Statistics
| Miikka Kiprusoff | Player | Evgeni Nabokov |
| 12 (2000-2013) | Seasons | 14 (1999-2010, 2011-2015) |
| 623 | Games Played | 697 |
| 319-213-71 | W-L-T Record | 353-227-86 |
| 44 | Shutouts | 59 |
| 2.49 | GAA | 2.44 |
| .912 | SV% | .911 |
| 96 | GA%- | 98 |
| 1x | All-Star Games | 2x |
| 1x | Vezina Trophies | – |
| 1x | Jennings Trophies | – |
| – | Stanley Cups | – |
| – | Conn Smythes | – |
| – | Other Awards | ROY |
| – | Hall of Fame Induction | – |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
In addition to their regular season success, both Kiprusoff and Nabokov consistently guided their teams into the playoffs throughout the 2000s decade, with the former coming oh-so-close to winning a Stanley Cup with the Flames.
While most of Kiprusoff’s seven career playoff appearances (2x Sharks, 5x Flames) either resulted in first-round losses and/or limited action, by far his most memorable postseason came in 2003-2004 – led by the heroics of Kiprusoff and captain Iginla, Calgary advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals before falling in a heartbreaking seven-game loss to Conn Smythe winner Brad Richards and the Lightning; for his part, Kiprusoff was stellar, leading the Stanley Cup playoffs with 26 games played for a 15-11 record, 1.85 GAA (93 GA%-), .928 SV%, and 5 shutouts.
On an almost annual basis throughout the decade, Nabokov backstopped the Sharks to the playoffs (9x, in addition to one trip with the Islanders), though with mixed results, including a pair of trips to the Western Conference Finals:
- 2003-2004: in an twist of irony, San Jose lost in six games to the Flames during Calgary’s Finals run, as Nabokov was outplayed by his former backup; overall, he went 10-7 with a sparkling 1.71 GAA (84 GA%-), .935 SV%, and 3 shutouts
- 2009-2010: swept by the Chicago Blackhawks; Nabokov was 8-7 overall with a 2.56 GAA (102 GA%-), .907 SV%, and a shutout
Additionally, both Kiprusoff and Nabokov represented their respective countries with distinction on the international stage. The former was a longtime stalwart in net for Finland, winning silver medals at both the World Championship (2x) and the World Cup (1x); however, he missed out on both the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics before finally appearing in Vancouver in 2010, where he helped the Finns to a bronze medal. As for Nabokov, after playing for his native Kazakhstan in the 1994 World Championships, he later received an exemption to play for Russia at both the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, but did not medal either time; in-between, he did lead Russia to a gold medal at the 2008 World Championships.
Playoff Statistics
| Miikka Kiprusoff | Player | Evgeni Nabokov |
| 56 | Games Played | 86 |
| 25-28 | W-L-T Record | 42-42 |
| 6 | Shutouts | 7 |
| 2.32 | GAA | 2.43 |
| .921 | SV% | .908 |
| 85 | GA%- | 100 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; for Kiprusoff, the heavy workload of his awesome prime ultimately took its toll, whereas for Nabokov, he was no longer the same dominant goalie after leaving San Jose. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete, though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Miikka Kiprusoff | Player | Evgeni Nabokov |
| 2002-2004, 2005-2013 | Decade of Dominance | 2000-2004, 2006-2010, 2011-2013 |
| 598 | Games Played | 590 |
| 310-206-68 | W-L-T Record | 317-186-68 |
| 42 | Shutouts | 53 |
| 2.49 | GAA | 2.36 |
| .912 | SV% | .914 |
| 97 | GA%- | 95 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
In terms of their respective best 10 seasons, Nabokov has the slight edge over Kiprusoff in nearly every single category, which is a strong testament to his consistent excellence; in fact, Kiprusoff’s decade of dominance is somewhat hurt by the fact that he really only played eight full seasons as a bonafide #1 goalie.
My Thoughts
Perhaps the most interesting thing about comparing Miikka Kiprusoff and Evgeni Nabokov is how closely intertwined their careers were – as goaltending prospects coming up almost simultaneously through the Sharks’ system, what if San Jose had kept Kiprusoff as their starting goalie instead? As it stands, while Nabokov may have slightly better overall career numbers, I would give the nod to Kiprusoff – his peak was not quite as long as Nabokov’s (due in part to his staggering workload year in and year out with the Flames), but he was essentially a consistent top-flight goalie every year in Calgary and at one point, arguably THE best goalie in the NHL (top-three in Vezina voting for three straight years, with one win) ; in contrast, Nabokov was usually very good between the pipes, but never the alpha dog among his peers and actually had a few inconsistent years mid-career where he was essentially in a platoon. Moreover, when it comes to the playoffs, Kiprusoff was far more dominant and nearly carried an underdog Flames team to a Stanley Cup title. Finally, in terms of whether or not they are Hall of Fame-worthy, ultimately I think both players fall just short – very good players in the 2000s, but not quite the level of longevity and greatness needed to be immortalized in the Hall of Fame.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Miikka Kiprusoff
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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