A year ago, Peter Budaj was the talk of the Colorado Avalanche. With Jose Theodore departed through free agency, would Budaj be able to rise up as the Avalanche's starting net minder of the future?
No, he wouldn't.
Budaj, like most of the players on the team, struggled greatly. He finished the season with a career high 55 starts, but also had a career high in losses as he posted a 20-29-5 record.
His 0.899 save percentage ranked 27th among starters.
Last offseason, it was speculated that the Avalanche would break ties with Budaj, but they surprisingly gave him a $450,000 raise by signing him to a one-year, $1.25 million contract.
With Craig Anderson only making $1.5 million this year, many speculated that while Anderson was the clear starting goaltender, Budaj would get involved in 25-35 games.
Instead, Budaj has sat and watched as Anderson has started 27 of 29 games, on pace to start 76 games, a number that would shatter Patrick Roy's franchise mark of 65.
Part of the reason for Budaj's lack of playing time is the fact that he came down with the H1N1 flu early in the season, causing him to miss sev ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by James Crider
Peter Budaj: The Forgotten Man in Colorado
December 2nd, 2009 by James Crider Leave a reply »
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