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Peter Budaj

Anaheim Ducks Finalize Coaching Staff

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The Anaheim Ducks announced several promotions and hires to Greg Cronin’s staff for the 2024-25 NHL season. The team has promoted Sudarshan Maharaj to director of goaltending and Julien Tremblay to NHL player development while naming Tim Army as an assistant coach and Peter Budaj as the team’s new goaltending coach.

The promotion has been a long time coming for Maharaj as he’s been the Ducks’ goaltending coach since the start of the 2016-17 season. Before his time in Southern California, Maharaj worked in a similar role with the New York Islanders from 2003-04 to 2005-06 before becoming a goaltending consultant until 2011-12. For his entire tenure with the club, Maharaj has been working closely with Anaheim’s starting goaltender, John Gibson. Maharaj oversaw the three best years of Gibson’s career up to this point from 2017-19 as the goaltender produced an 82-56-24 record in 166 stars while posting an exceptional .922 save percentage and 2.50 goals against average.

Longtime NHL netminder Budaj will replace Maharaj as the team’s goaltending coach after having previously worked with Cronin during his time with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Budaj was a solid backup goaltender through much of his playing career which spanned 13 seasons from 2005-06 to 2018-19. Budaj posted a career record of 158-132-40 with a .904 SV% and 2.70 GAA and will now look to jolt Gibson into a career resurgence in Anaheim.

The last notable hire of the day for Anaheim is Army who was previously an assistant coach with the Ducks during their inaugural season in 1993-94. His last season with Anaheim came during their first entry into the postseason for the 1996-97 season before falling Ron Wilson to the Washington Capitals from 1997-98 to 2001-02. Army would then spend the next six seasons as the head coach of Providence College before returning to the NHL as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche until 2017. His first professional experience as a head coach came during the 2018-19 season when he was named the head coach of the AHL’s Iowa Wild. Army now returns to the Ducks organization for the first time in nearly three decades and will serve as a veteran presence on Cronin’s staff.

Colorado Avalanche Hire Peter Budaj

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A familiar face is heading back to Denver. Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater reports that Peter Budaj has been hired by the Colorado Avalanche as the “Development Goaltending Coach”. Budaj returns to the NHL organization responsible for his own pro development to assist with the same for the Avs’ goaltending prospects. Dater states that Budaj will primarily be responsible for communicating with and advising Colorado’s goalies outside of the pro ranks. He will likely have a major presence at development and training camps and could have input into the drafting goaltending prospects as well.

Budaj, 38, only retired in 2019 after a career renaissance extended his playing days well beyond what had been anticipated. A second-round pick of the Avalanche in 2001, Budaj got his start in the NHL in 2005 and spent six years with Colorado. He then moved on to the Montreal Canadiens for several seasons, but by 2016 had spent the past two seasons almost exclusively in the AHL. Yet, injuries to the Los Angeles Kings keepers the following season gave Budaj another chance and he responded with an elite season, the best of his career by far. This led to a trade to the Tampa Bay Lightning and then eventually a return to L.A. that extended his career several seasons after it seemed to be winding down in 2016.

Budaj jumped into coaching immediately after retirement, taking an assistant coach position with both the Bozeman Ice Dogs of the NA3HL and at Montana State University with their ACHA club. After a year off during the pandemic, Budaj is ready to take the next step, jumping into a key developmental role for his former team. Interestingly though, it is not clear who Budaj will be working with this season. The AHL’s Colorado Eagles have their own goaltending coach, so if young prospect keepers Justus Annunen and Trent Miner wind up in Loveland despite Jonas Johansson and Hunter Miska also slated for jobs with the Eagles, it leaves little for Budaj to work with. Perhaps if either are demoted to the ECHL or loaned elsewhere, that will become Budaj’s focus this year. The only other prospect goalie in the organization is Russian Shamil Shmakov, who is expected to play in the second tier VHL this year. Regardless of who ends up working with Budaj, they will benefit from the veteran’s experience and knowledge of the position.

Snapshots: Competition Committee, Imoo, Byron

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When the NHL/NHLPA Competition Committee convenes tomorrow in Toronto, the players’ side will be represented by some of the biggest names in the game. The NHLPA has announced that Ron Hainsey, Connor Hellebuyck, Connor McDavid, John Tavares, and James van Riemsdyk will be the players in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting. McDavid and Tavares obviously stand out as two of hockey’s top talents and players whose inputs will be highly valued. Hainsey is a respected veteran who has always been involved with the players’ association. Hellebuyck will seemingly be there to represent all goalies, while – maybe unintentionally – van Riemsdyk will be the only player from an American team in attendance. The group will have a lot to talk about, as officiating concerns have only increased over recent weeks and the discussion of changing or expanding review will almost certainly be on the table.

  • The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman reports that Los Angeles Kings goaltending development coach Dusty Imoo is headed overseas. The goalie whisperer is set to join the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star in a similar role and Dillman notes that it is a major loss for the Kings. She writes that Imoo was part of a strong tandem with goalie coach Bill Ranford that has worked with Jonathan Quick for years, helped to resurrect the careers of Peter Budaj and Jack Campbell, and have been working with promising prospect Cal Petersen. Fortunately, goaltending is one of the few areas where L.A. found success last year and, even with the loss of Imoo, still have the talent and depth to stay strong in net.
  • Blaine Byron has re-signed with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, the team announced. It’s a one-year re-up for Byron, who just completed his second season with the Thunderbirds. Byron was a standout at the University of Maine and was expected to draw NHL interest as a college free agent in 2017, but instead signed with Springfield. He failed to impress in his first pro season, but after a 25-point campaign this year, it would not have been a surprise to see the Florida Panthers look into a two-way deal for the well-rounded forward. Instead, Byron returns to Springfield and will look to improve again next year.

Peter Budaj Starts Coaching Career

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It was time to hang up his pads. Peter Budaj announced in early April that the 2018-19 season would be his last, ending his professional hockey playing career with a season mostly spent in the minor leagues with the Ontario Reign. Now just a month later, Budaj has already moved onto the next chapter of his life, taking a coaching position with the Montana State University Bobcats. He will serve as a goaltending and special teams coach after relocating to Bozeman, Montana with his family.

Budaj, 36, was a second round pick of the Colorado Avalanche back in 2001 and carved out a long and relatively successful NHL career. He appeared in 242 regular season games with the Avalanche over several seasons, recording a 101-91-27 record during his time in Denver. He then moved on to the Montreal Canadiens where he found even more success, before experiencing the best stretch of his career in 2016-17 with the Los Angeles Kings. Budaj was thrust into the starting role for the Kings after Jonathan Quick and Jeff Zatkoff suffered early season injuries, and ended up with a .917 save percentage in 53 games.

It wasn’t just the NHL that showcased Budaj’s talents. The veteran goaltender suited up several times for Slovakia in international competition, including three times at the Olympic Games. He’ll now take that experience to the college level and attempt to pass on some of his knowledge to the next generation of goaltenders.

Peter Budaj Will Retire At The End Of The AHL Season

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Veteran goaltender Peter Budaj has decided to call it a career at the end of the season, the Kings announced (Twitter link).  The 36-year-old is wrapping up his second stint with Los Angeles after being acquired for Andy Andreoff last offseason.

Budaj was a highly-promising prospect to start his career.  Colorado drafted him in the second round back in 2001 and he followed up three strong seasons with Toronto of the OHL with three full campaigns at the minor league level in Hershey before joining the Avalanche on a full-time basis in 2005-06.

However, his time with the Avs was marked with inconsistency.  At times, he looked like their legitimate goalie of the future but struggled at other times as well.  As a result, he was never given the number one job on a full-time basis and after six seasons with the team, he left for Montreal in free agency, going to a situation where he was the clear number two.

In his third season with the Canadiens, Budaj was not called upon to take over as the starter in the postseason when Carey Price was injured as they instead went with Dustin Tokarski.  That paved the way for his departure and he was ultimately flipped to Winnipeg the following year after clearing waivers, where he spent the entire season in the minors.

Rather than opt to return back to his native Slovakia, Budaj decided to stick it out in North America, signing a pair of two-way deals with the Kings.  The move turned out to be a shrewd one as in his second season with the team (2016-17), Jonathan Quick was injured early in the year which put Budaj into the starting job quite quickly.  He responded with a career season, playing to a career-best 2.17 GAA before being included as filler in the trade deadline deal to acquire Ben Bishop from Tampa Bay.

His success that season was enough to land a two-year, one-way contract that summer, one that expires in July.  While he has spent a good chunk of time since then in the minors, he has seen limited NHL action in each of the last two seasons.

Budaj wraps up his playing days with 370 career NHL regular season appearances with four different teams, posting a 2.70 GAA along with a .904 save percentage.  Between that and nearly $12MM in career earnings, per CapFriendly, he wraps up what wound up being a solid career, even if he was never able to ascend to the number one role like Colorado had hoped for a decade ago.

Jonathan Quick Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Los Angeles Kings haven’t had much to celebrate this season, but they’ll finally at least get one of their most important players back on the ice. The team has activated Jonathan Quick from injured reserve, while sending Peter Budaj to the minor leagues. Trevor Lewis has also been placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 16th.

Quick has been out since last month following a surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, forcing young goaltenders into the net in his place. First Jack Campbell took over and actually performed quite well, before the same injury forced him out of the crease and onto the surgery table. Following Campbell’s injury the team was forced to turn to Calvin Petersen, who had only 51 professional appearances to his name. Petersen has done much better than anyone could have asked for with a .921 save percentage, but there is little doubt the Kings are happy to get their star goaltender back on the ice.

The Kings are close to being left behind entirely in the Western Conference, now sitting at just 17 points on the season with a 8-14-1 record. That is obviously a terrible start—one which cost head coach John Stevens his job and forward Tanner Pearson his roster spot—but there is still hope that a rejuvenated Quick can get them back into the hunt. To do it they’ll need some help from the offense, who have scored just 51 goals on the season.

Pacific Notes: Quick, Raanta, Chychrun, Oilers, Miller

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The Los Angeles Kings could use some good news with their goaltending issues and they got some Sunday as NHL.com’s Kevin Weekes reports that Jonathan Quick skated today in full gear, which is the next step in his recovery after undergoing surgery on Oct. 31 to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Weekes reports that Quick just worked on his crease work, but did not go down and did not take any pucks. Regardless, that has to be good news for L.A. who are without both Quick and his backup, Jack Campbell, who went down with the exact same injury. Instead, the team is going with the AHL tandem of Peter Budaj and Calvin Petersen. However, the team would much prefer to see Quick return to the lineup as new head coach Willie Desjardins continues to try to turn around the Kings after a poor start.

Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen adds that Quick could take on a heavier load in practice on either Wednesday or Friday.

  • Cat Silverman of The Athletic reports that the Arizona Coyotes had two injured players return to practice Sunday as goaltender Antti Raanta and defenseman Jakob Chychrun both practiced. Raanta’s practice was a short one, but he did participate in full drills while he was there. He was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 7 with an undisclosed injury. Chychrun recently returned to the team after recovering from offseason surgery and then immediately was placed on injured reserve after one game with an upper-body injury. He was a full participant in practice today and with full contact. Both are considered likely to play Wednesday against Vegas.
  • Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson writes that it’s unlikely the Edmonton Oilers will get involved in the William Nylander sweepstakes with the Toronto Maple Leafs as the team would likely have to send back defenseman Adam Larsson, which the Oilers would not be willing to do. Instead Matheson believes the Oilers’ best course of action would be to wait for the trade deadline and make a play for the New York Rangers Mats Zuccarello, who will be a unrestricted free agent next year, but could be a good fit in Edmonton.
  • The return of Nate Schmidt to the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday is good news for defenseman Colin Miller, who has been forced to take over Schmidt’s role as a No. 1 defenseman, always in charge of facing opposing team’s top line. That has been a challenge for Miller, who is better off as a second-pair defenseman, according to SinBin’s Steve Carp. That role has altered the way Miller thinks as he has had to focus on defense first and put offense on the back burner. Miller, who had 10 goals and 41 points last season, currently has no goals and six assists in 20 games. However, with Schmidt taking his previous role starting tonight and expected to be paired with Shea Theodore, Miller can return to his old role, which could result in an offensive boost for Vegas.

Pacific Notes: Ducks, Quick, Chychrun

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The Anaheim Ducks have dealt with more than their fair share of injuries over the past year or so. The team is still far from healthy, but finally full strength is within sight, particularly among their battered forward corps. The likes of Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, and Patrick Eaves are healthy, and recent injuries like those to Jakob Silfverberg and Kalle Kossila have also run their course. Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase are on the mend and expected to be active sooner rather than later. Corey Perry (knee) and Carter Rowney (upper body) are still far from a return, but in terms of players the Ducks reasonably expected to be healthy, things are looking up. However, a full set of healthy forwards also brings with it some tough choices. While Anaheim has the flexibility to send the likes of Ben Street, Pontus Aberg, Sam Carrick, and Kiefer Sherwood – currently on the roster – to the AHL, they have to be concerned about whether there is enough ice time to go around for the more permanent pieces. Already, the team sent promising rookie Isac Lundestrom to the AHL today to bring up Kossila and fellow top prospects Sam Steel and Troy Terry are already down with the San Diego Gulls. As the team grows healthier, it it possible that they could explore returning rookie Max Comtois to his junior club, the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltiguers. While Comtois has already played in ten games this season and tolled the first year of his contract, he cannot be sent to the AHL and could be better served getting guaranteed top-six minutes at the junior level than fighting for ice time with the Ducks. Comtois is currently sidelined, buying Anaheim some time on the decision, but with conceivably an upwards of 20 forwards expecting to see action in the NHL this season, eliminating even just one option by sending Comtois back to junior would help the Ducks with their impending roster crunch.

  • The Los Angeles Kings took another hit in net today with the news that backup goaltender Jack Campbell will be out four to six weeks with a torn meniscus. The team is already without starter Jonathan Quick due to the same injury and are left to lean on veteran Peter Budaj and rookie Cal Petersen for the time being. Fortunately, GM Rob Blake did assure the media later on that Quick remains on track to return sometime around the end of the month, per beat writer Curtis Zupke. Quick underwent surgery on October 31st and was given a timeline of roughly a month to return. So long as his rehab continues to progress positively, Quick could potentially be ready to return by the Kings’ November 30th clash with the division rival Calgary Flames. Yet, even in that best-case scenario, Budaj and Petersen will still be on the hook for the nine games between now and then.
  • In more immediate injury news, The Athletic’s Craig Morgan reports that Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun is “probable” to make his season debut on Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings. Chychrun has been sidelined since late last season with a torn ACL in his right knee. The first-round pick was establishing himself as a reliable top-four defender prior to his injury and his return should come with an automatic starting spot, likely bumping Ilya Lyubushkin down to the minors and Jordan Oesterle from his starting slot.

Jonathan Quick Undergoes Surgery, Out Indefinitely

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The Los Angeles Kings’ season is off to a rough start, and it might not be looking up for some time. The team announced today that Jonathan Quick is out indefinitely following surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. The team has recalled Peter Budaj, who will back up Jack Campbell in net for the Kings.

This is a crushing blow to a Kings team that is already at the bottom of the NHL standings thanks to an early season Quick injury and uninspired play by many of their key players. Los Angeles will now have to find a way to climb out of the basement with their best goaltender sidelined, and a duo in place that combined for a grand total of 13 NHL appearances last season. Campbell is completely unproven at the NHL level despite his early play, while Budaj is now 36 and has had a only a single successful season over the last several years.

The Kings do have talent on their roster, but not enough of it has shown through the early part of the year. Drew Doughty and newcomer Ilya Kovalchuk lead the team with eight points through the first 11 games, but younger players like Adrian Kempe and Michael Amadio have failed to take the necessary steps to elevate the team. Much of the rest of the core in Los Angeles is already on the wrong side of 30 and declining with age, leaving the coaching staff struggling to find any sense of consistency on a nightly basis.

While this season is certainly off to a rough start, and Quick’s injury only exacerbates that, there are at least rays of hope on the horizon. Gabe Vilardi has recently returned to the ice in a non-contact jersey, and prospects like Kale Clague and Rasmus Kupari are off to great starts in their respective professional leagues. Jaret Anderson-Dolan even has two goals in his first two games after being sent back to junior earlier this month, and should be part of the Canadian World Junior squad in a few months. The struggles of the NHL club can’t be fixed right away with any of those young players, but this season is also quite young. With talents like Doughty and Anze Kopitar still on the roster, the Kings could stage something of a comeback throughout the year—they’ll just have to do it without the services of Quick for the time being.

Kings’ Jonathan Quick Out Indefinitely With Lower-Body Injury

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The hits keep coming for the Los Angeles Kings. Already mired in a horrible start as they have a 2-7-1 record, including a six-game losing streak, the Kings are now going to be without star goaltender Jonathan Quick for an indefinite period of time. The goaltender suffered a lower-body injury and will be out Sunday and there is no current timetable for his return as he’s still being evaluated, according to NHL.com’s Dan Greenspan.

Quick is already coming off a injury in which he missed five straight games with a lower-body injury. Greenspan writes that this new injury is not related to the one from earlier this year. The 32-year-old Quick, normally one of the top goaltenders in the NHL, has struggled this year in limited action, especially since his returning from injury on Oct. 18. In four games this year, Quick has a 4.55 GAA and a .845 save percentage.

The Kings will start Jack Campbell on Sunday and he will serve as the starter in Quick’s place. Campbell has fared quite well this season as he boasts a .917 save percentage in seven appearances this year, including both the team’s victories this year and one shutout. The team has already recalled veteran goaltender Peter Budaj from the Ontario Reign of the AHL to serve as backup.

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