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Peter Budaj

Peter Budaj (/buːˈdaɪ/ boo-DYE; born 18 September 1982) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey goaltender. He had previously played in the National Hockey League for the Colorado Avalanche, which drafted him, Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Peter Budaj
Budaj with the Montreal Canadiens in 2013
Born (1982-09-18) 18 September 1982 (age 42)
Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Colorado Avalanche
Montreal Canadiens
Los Angeles Kings
Tampa Bay Lightning
National team  Slovakia
NHL draft 63rd overall, 2001
Colorado Avalanche
Playing career 2002–2019

Playing career

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Colorado Avalanche

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Budaj was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2001 draft as the first pick for the Avalanche and 63rd overall. He wore number 31 for the Avalanche after playing for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Toronto St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

 
Budaj with the Avalanche in 2007.

In his first NHL season in 2005–06, he appeared in 34 games while backing up David Aebischer and then José Théodore. He recorded a combined 47 wins in the next two seasons while splitting duties with Théodore. His first NHL playoff appearances came in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs in relief of Théodore in Colorado's second round matchup against the eventual Stanley Cup champions Detroit Red Wings.

Budaj played his 100th NHL game on 3 November 2007, in a 4–3 home loss against the Vancouver Canucks.[1]

For the 2008–09 season, Budaj was named the starting goalie for the Colorado Avalanche for the first time. He and backup goaltender Andrew Raycroft struggled throughout the season as the Avalanche finished last in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs for the second time in last three seasons.[2]

On 29 June 2009, Budaj was re-signed by the Avalanche to a one-year contract for the 2009–10 season.[3] He started the season playing as the Avalanche backup goalie to Craig Anderson, formerly of the Florida Panthers. Before his first appearance in net, Budaj was diagnosed with the H1N1 virus and was completely isolated from the rest of the team until he was cleared to play by the coaching staff.[4] Budaj finally made his first appearance of the season on 4 November, against the Phoenix Coyotes. He stopped 28 of 29 shots and backstopped the Avs to a 4–1 victory.[5] Budaj made his second post season appearance on 22 April 2010 against the San Jose Sharks, when he relieved Craig Anderson at 11:05 in the third period. The Sharks won the game 5–0, with one goal scored against Budaj.[6]

On 1 April 2011, Budaj became the first Slovakian goaltender to reach 100 career NHL wins with a 4–3 shootout win over Phoenix.

Montreal Canadiens

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Budaj signed as a free agent to a two-year contract worth $2.3 million with the Montreal Canadiens on 1 July 2011.[7] During the lockout shortened 2012–13 season, his second year as backup to Carey Price, Budaj carried an 8–1–1 record in 13 games, to earn a two-year contract extension with the Canadiens on 10 April 2013.[8]

Winnipeg Jets

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On 5 October 2014, Budaj and Patrick Holland were traded to the Winnipeg Jets in return for Eric Tangradi.[9] He was waived less than a day later.[10] On the following day, he was assigned to the St. John's IceCaps, Winnipeg's American Hockey League affiliate, after clearing waivers.[11] Budaj remained with the IceCaps for the duration of the 2014–15 season, however was unable to impress with the club in failing to win a single game in 19 contests.

Los Angeles Kings

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As a free agent from the Jets, Budaj was unable to secure an NHL contract and on 28 August 2015, agreed to sign a try-out contract to attend the Los Angeles Kings training camp.[12] On 9 October 2015 it was announced that Budaj signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Los Angeles Kings and was subsequently waived and assigned to the Ontario Reign of the AHL to begin the 2015–16 season.[13] Budaj immediately rebounded with the Reign with a succession of impressive performances to secure the starting goaltender duties. In leading the Reign to claim the Pacific Division title, Budaj led the league in most statistical categories to earn the Baz Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL's best goaltender. On 11 February 2016, he was recalled by the Los Angeles Kings on an emergency basis and made a victorious debut in a victory over the New York Rangers.[14][non-primary source needed] On his return to Ontario, Budaj was signed to a one-year contract extension to remain with the Kings on 2 March 2016.[15]

In the 2016–17 season, Budaj was again recalled by the Kings in October 2016, after starting goaltender Jonathan Quick was injured in the opening game of the year.[16] In beating out current backup Jeff Zatkoff, Budaj assumed starting duties for the Kings to cover for the loss of Quick. In gaining an NHL starting role for the first time since 2011 with the Avalanche, Budaj responded in recording his best statistical year in the league. Having posted 27 wins and a career best 7 shutouts in 53 games, Budaj was returned to the backup role upon Quick's return on 25 February 2017.

Tampa Bay Lightning

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On 26 February 2017, the Kings traded Budaj, alongside Erik Černák and a 2017 7th-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for goaltender Ben Bishop and a 2017 5th-round pick.[17] Budaj finished the campaign with a 3–1–0 record in seven games with the Lightning. On 22 June 2017, Budaj signed a two-year, $2.05 million contract extension with the Lightning.[18]

Budaj appeared in eight games with the Lightning during the 2017–18 season, having a record of 3–3–1. Budaj also spent time with the Syracuse Crunch on a conditioning stint.[19]

Return to Los Angeles

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On 13 June 2018, Budaj was traded back to the Kings in exchange for forward Andy Andreoff.[20] While Budaj was originally assigned to the Kings AHL affiliate, after starting goaltender Jonathan Quick was placed on Injured Reserve on 7 October he was recalled to the NHL.[21] Budaj was reassigned to the AHL on 18 October.[22] Budaj played out the remainder of the season with the Reign, ending his 17 year professional career at the conclusion of the regular season.[23]

Mask

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Budaj, a devout Christian, is perhaps best known for having the depiction of Ned Flanders, a popular religious character from TV's The Simpsons painted on his masks.[24] In 2008, Budaj began wearing a mask featuring the character Altaïr from the popular video game Assassin's Creed.[25] The mask primarily worn by Budaj during the 2008–09 season features a burgundy colored version of the comic book hero The Hulk,[26] although he did continue wearing the Assassin's Creed mask as well. Budaj's 2009–10 mask features his racing idol Valentino Rossi on one side, the Avalanche's alternate foot logo on the other, and retains Ned Flanders on the back.[27] Budaj's 2013–14 mask still has Ned Flanders' image as well as an image of Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi. Ned Flanders continues to appear on Budaj's 2014–15 mask, without Lionel Messi.[28] Then, during the 2017–18 season his Ned Flanders character turned to Thor.[29]

Personal life

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Peter and his wife Taylor have two sons together.[30][31]

After retiring from playing hockey Budaj moved to Bozeman, Montana to be closer to his wife's family. He started a goalie training company called Budaj Blockers and also served as assistant coach of the Montana State University Bobcats hockey team.[32]

In 2021 Budaj became a goalie development coach with the Avalanche.[33]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1999–00 Toronto St. Michael's Majors OHL 34 6 18 1 — 1676 112 1 4.01 .882 — — — — — — — —
2000–01 Toronto St. Michael's Majors OHL 37 17 12 3 — 1996 95 3 2.86 .907 11 6 4 621 26 1 2.51 —
2001–02 Toronto St. Michael's Majors OHL 42 26 9 5 — 1148 89 2 2.29 .922 12 5 6 620 34 1 3.29 .898
2002–03 Hershey Bears AHL 28 10 10 2 — 1467 65 2 2.66 .911 1 0 0 6 2 0 20.81 .333
2003–04 Hershey Bears AHL 46 17 20 6 — 2574 120 3 2.80 .916 — — — — — — — —
2004–05 Hershey Bears AHL 59 29 25 2 — 3356 148 5 2.65 .919 — — — — — — — —
2005–06 Colorado Avalanche NHL 34 14 10 — 6 1802 86 2 2.86 .900 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Colorado Avalanche NHL 57 31 16 — 6 3198 143 3 2.68 .905 — — — — — — — —
2007–08 Colorado Avalanche NHL 35 16 10 — 4 1912 82 0 2.57 .903 3 0 0 107 6 0 3.33 .908
2008–09 Colorado Avalanche NHL 56 20 29 — 5 3232 154 2 2.86 .899 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 Colorado Avalanche NHL 15 5 5 — 2 728 32 1 2.64 .917 1 0 0 9 1 0 6.67 .750
2010–11 Colorado Avalanche NHL 45 15 21 — 4 2439 130 1 3.20 .895 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Montreal Canadiens NHL 17 5 7 — 5 1037 44 0 2.55 .913 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Montreal Canadiens NHL 13 8 1 — 1 656 25 1 2.29 .908 2 0 2 63 7 0 6.67 .774
2013–14 Montreal Canadiens NHL 24 10 8 — 3 1338 56 1 2.51 .909 1 0 0 20 3 0 9.00 .625
2014–15 St. John's IceCaps AHL 19 0 9 — 6 913 54 0 3.55 .888 — — — — — — — —
2015–16 Ontario Reign AHL 60 42 14 — 5 3575 104 9 1.75 .932 13 7 6 800 29 0 2.18 .904
2015–16 Los Angeles Kings NHL 1 1 0 — 0 62 4 0 3.87 .857 — — — — — — — —
2016–17 Los Angeles Kings NHL 53 27 20 — 3 3042 107 7 2.12 .917 — — — — — — — —
2016–17 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 7 3 1 — 0 280 13 0 2.80 .898 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 8 3 3 — 1 431 27 0 3.77 .876 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 Syracuse Crunch AHL 2 0 1 — 1 122 6 0 2.95 .887 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Ontario Reign AHL 27 7 11 — 7 1513 94 1 3.73 .890 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Los Angeles Kings NHL 3 0 1 — 0 72 6 0 5.00 .818 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 368 158 132 — 40 20,216 909 18 2.70 .904 7 0 2 199 17 0 5.13 .843

International

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Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2000 Slovakia WJC18 5th 5 2 3 0 249 13 0 3.13 .932
2001 Slovakia WJC 8th 4 1 3 0 239 16 0 4.01 .875
2002 Slovakia WJC 8th 4 1 0 2 212 11 1 3.11 .919
2006 Slovakia OG 5th 3 2 1 0 179 6 0 2.01 .924
2008 Slovakia WC 13th 1 0 1 0 59 3 0 3.03 .903
2010 Slovakia WC 12th 6 2 4 0 282 13 0 2.76 .913
2014 Slovakia OG 11th 1 0 0 0 27 2 0 4.44 .750
Senior totals 11 4 6 0 547 24 0 2.67 —

Awards and honours

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Award Year
OHL
Second All-Star Team 2002
AHL
All-Star Game 2016
First All-Star Team 2016 [34]
Baz Bastien Memorial Award 2016 [35]
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award 2016
NHL
YoungStars Game 2007

References

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  1. ^ "Game Recap – Canucks 4, Avalanche 3". National Hockey League. Associated Press. 3 November 2007. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
  2. ^ "Avalanche GM Giguere pays price for poor season". National Hockey League. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  3. ^ Adrian Dater (30 June 2009). "Budaj signs deal, likely No. 2 in net". The Denver Post. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  4. ^ Terry Frei (27 October 2009). "Swine flu fells Avalanche goalie Peter Budaj". The Denver Post. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Budaj shines in 1st game back from flu". Colorado Daily. 4 November 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Nabokov, Couture lead Sharks to 5–0 win over Avs". The Denver Post. 22 April 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  7. ^ "NHL Free Agent Tracker". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 3 July 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  8. ^ "Canadiens re-sign backup Peter Budaj for two-seasons". CBS Sports. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  9. ^ Chris Peters (5 October 2014). "Jets acquire G Peter Budaj in three-player trade with Canadiens". CBS Sports. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  10. ^ Greg Wyshynski (6 October 2014). "NHL cut day: Peter Budaj, Colton Orr among the waived". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  11. ^ Robin Short (7 October 2014). "Veteran NHL goalie assigned to IceCaps". Archived from the original on 19 October 2017.
  12. ^ Jon Rosen (28 August 2015). "Budaj to attend camp, Sharipzyanov inked to ELC". LAKingsinsider.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Peter Budaj Inked Then Waived by Kings". Today's Slapshot. 9 October 2015. Archived from the original on 10 October 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  14. ^ "Kings recall Gravel and Budaj". Los Angeles Kings. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  15. ^ "Goaltender Peter Budaj signed to one-year extension". Los Angeles Kings. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Budaj Call: With Quick Hurt, LA Recalls Peter Budaj for Backup". SB Nation. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Bolts acquire Budaj, Cernak, and picks from Kings". Tampa Bay Lightning. 26 February 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  18. ^ "Lightning sign goaltender Peter Budaj to two-year contract". National Hockey League. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  19. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning assign goaltender Peter Budaj to Syracuse Crunch for conditioning assignment". Syracuse Crunch. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  20. ^ "Lightning acquire forward Andy Andreoff from Los Angeles Kings". National Hockey League. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  21. ^ "Peter Budaj Recalled from Ontario Reign; Jonathan Quick Placed on IR". National Hockey League. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  22. ^ "Kings activate Jonathan Quick off IR, assign Peter Budaj to AHL". sportsnet.ca. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  23. ^ "Thank you Peter Budaj for an incredible career!". Ontario Reign. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  24. ^ Adrian Dater (9 November 2010). "Faith is just one goal for Avs' Budaj". The Denver Post. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  25. ^ Adrian Dater (17 November 2008). "Mailbag: Man behind the Mask". The Denver Post. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  26. ^ "Budaj getting swagger back into his game". The Denver Post. 20 March 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  27. ^ David Hutchison (11 October 2009). "Peter Budaj's 2009–2010 Colorado Avalanche Mask". Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  28. ^ Greg Boysen (30 September 2014). "Peter Budaj Gets A New Mask". gohabsgo.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  29. ^ "Peter Budaj gets Ned Flanders-Thor mashup mask". National Hockey League. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  30. ^ "Colorado Avalanche 2010 Media Guide" (PDF). Colorado Avalanche. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  31. ^ Smith, Joe (5 March 2017). "New Lightning goalie Peter Budaj enjoys 'crazy' career renaissance". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  32. ^ Dutton, Robyn (6 August 2019). "Happiness After Hockey: Peter Budaj". NHL.com. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  33. ^ Dater, Adrien (20 August 2021). "Avalanche Notebook: Peter Budaj is back". ColoradoHockeyNow.com. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  34. ^ "First, Second Team All-Stars announced". American Hockey League. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  35. ^ "Reign's Budaj named AHL's top goaltender". American Hockey League. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award
2015–16 		Succeeded by
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