Peter Budaj: back up goalie for the Colorado Avalanche, God fearing Christian, and an utter disappointment to every single Avs fan. Sure, there are those hopeful fans who still believe that Peter Budaj has the potential to be a great goalie, but tonight was one of many final straws I’ve given to him.
Courtesy of http://avalanche.nhl.com
After the miserable loss to the Edmonton Oilers tonight, Budaj can tuck the 6-4 loss under his “well, better luck next time,” belt. There are many things I could point out about Budaj to rant about, but that post would take quite some time to write and I’d like to see my wife tonight. However, I just have a few things I’d like to say.
First, can someone tell me why we’re paying this guy money? Especially after the 2008-2009 season where Budaj gave us a mind numbing 20-29-5 record. He shared that year with his back up goalie Andrew Raycroft, who was 12-16-0. When the season ended, Avalanche management should have cut both goalies loose and started anew. Get a good starting goalie and possibly bring up one of the kids from the Lake Erie Monsters, like Tyler Weiman.
That didn’t happen. Budaj was kept on, given a raise, and made the Avalanche’s back up goalie once again. This blew my mind. Raycroft played a more consistently in the net than Budaj, so why was this guy kept on the roster? Raycroft signed with the Vancouver Canucks and he’s been doing pretty well over there for the most part.
Courtesy of http://avalanche.nhl.com
I guess my whole problem is why we decided to put some faith in a guy who plays erratically in the net. Once he’s scored on, he’s no good, so you may as well pull him and put Craig Anderson in. The only time I’ve seen Budaj play well was during the 2007-2008 season when he was playing backup to Jose Theodore, who left for the Washington Capitals. Avalanche management wouldn’t pay Theodore what he was worth, so they went with Budaj because they thought he’d be good enough, but he wasn’t. He disappointed us the entire season and was rewarded for it by being granted another season with our team.
It just seems to me that the Avalanche have been cursed with bad goalies since Patrick Roy retired in 2003. We finally pick up a great goalie in Craig Anderson, but he’s offset by Budaj. Many people out there wonder why Anderson has started 20 of 22 games and I can give you the secret. Avalanche Coach Joe Sacco knows that Budaj is an inconsistent goalie. Sacco wants wins and he knows that Budaj can’t produce them.
So, here’s the plan: Sometime this season Joe Sacco needs to have a meeting with Pierre Lacroix, Greg Sherman, and Craig Billington. He needs to make them understand that getting rid of Budaj will be in the best interest of the Avalanche. If he can convince them of this, we may be able to get/promote a backup goalie we can rely on. Even better if we can do it before the trade deadline.
The sooner the better, Avalanche management. Save this team from Peter Budaj.
Related posts:
- Why Tyler Weiman Left
- The Chopping Block Part 2: Guardian(s)
- Craig Anderson is #1
- Curse of the Third Sweater?
- Budaj H1N1 Update
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