Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Peter Budaj has only suited up for a total of five games so far this season and holds a 2-2-1 record.
As much as one would like to deny the matter, there is a grand disparity ripping its way through the Tampa Bay Lightning and their fan base right now. While the locker room may not feel it quite as much as the fan base, it is definitely still a massive elephant in the room.
Exactly what is this massive elephant in the room, you may ask? Well, it is the little matter of Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Peter Budaj and the balance between expectation and reality. Everyone expects Budaj to play at the same level as Andrei Vasilevskiy. Unfortunately, there is a little bit of a problem here.
The simple fact of the matter is, you can’t expect a goaltender, no matter how skilled he may be, to sit the sidelines for a majority of the season and then hit the ice and play at the exact same level as his teammate. As much as one would like to say, “They are professional athletes and should be on the level at all times,” there is a thing known as “Rink Rust” and it is indeed a real thing.
Back on November 18, Bolts By The Bay Contributor Lane Fahey wrote an article stating the success of Andrei Vasilevskiy would force Peter Budaj to suffer. As much as it pains us to say this, there was a lot of truth in this article. When you have a goaltender like Vasilevskiy who is ready to go every single night, the opportunity for the “backup” to take the spotlight is very few and far between.
At the same time, we are starting to wonder whether this is simply because of Vasilevskiy’s undeniable success between the pipes or a conscious decision by Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper. Before anyone takes a giant leap off the deep end, allow us to illuminate our train of thought a little here.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Later on tonight, the Tampa Bay Lightning is set to take on the Arizona Coyotes at the Gila River Arena in Glendale. Unlike the Lightning, who currently sits atop the National Hockey League with 46 points, the Coyotes are currently sitting in dead last in the league with a total of 19 points through 33 games.
Now, let’s take a quick step back to Tuesday night when the Tampa Bay Lightning charged into the Scottrade Center to take on the St. Louis Blues. The Blues are arguably the biggest competition for the Bolts so far this season. Until Tuesday night, the Blues were neck and neck with the Lightning in the standings and could very well have dethroned the Bolts from their seat at the top of the league.
Andrei Vasilevskiy put on an amazing performance against the Blues, stopping all 32 Shots on Goal brought against him, to earn his third shutout of the 2017-18 season. One would think this would earn him a night off; especially against a team like the Coyotes. Regrettably, this is not the case.
According to Lightning Hockey Reporter Caley Chelios, Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper has decided to give Vasy the nod in the desert tonight. Our question is, why? Why would you not give what could easily be construed as a relatively easy game to a goaltender who is in desperate need of ice time?
In one hand, fans have very valid reasons to give Cooper and his mildly questionable decisions the benefit of the doubt. The last time he made a questionable decision, aka splitting up Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos; it actually benefitted the team in a grand way.
Unfortunately, Peter Budaj doesn’t seem to be benefitting from Cooper’s decision in any way, shape, or form.
Before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, Budaj had started in a total of 51 games for the Los Angeles Kings. After Kings Goaltender Jonathan Quick suffered a Lower-Body Injury in the first game of the season, Budaj was left to carry the weight of the team. In Quick’s absence, Budaj maintained a record of 27-20-3.
There are going to be some fans here in the Bolts Nation who argues this is the same thing Andrei Vasilevskiy had to endure when he played backup to Ben Bishop and Peter Budaj needs to step up or get out. We are going to respectfully disagree with this assertion.
In the 2016-17 season, Vasilevskiy started a total of 47 games in a Tampa Bay Lightning jersey. Only 18 of those starts came after Ben Bishop was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on February 26, 2017. This means Vasy started 29 games prior to Bishop’s exit.
We are now 33 games away from this point in the 2017-18 season. In all seriousness, it’s rather unreasonable to believe Budaj is going to get the nod in 24 games in between now and then to give him the same chance Vasilevskiy was given under Bishop.
As we mentioned previously, this is not in any means a knock on Andrei Vasilevskiy. Vasy has been exceeding everyone’s expectations this season and has truly earned his place at the helm of the Tampa Bay Lightning goaltending. At the same time, one cannot knock a player like Budaj who has not been given a fair opportunity to succeed.
If things continue on the path they’re on, there is a strong possibility the Lightning could be looking to move Budaj before the trade deadline. Budaj currently has one season remaining on his contract with the Lightning before he is set to become an Unrestricted Free Agent.
If the Bolts are indeed looking to make a move, they will certainly want to get the most out of the transaction. Obviously, this means making a move before Budaj is free to entertain offers from other teams and leave the Lightning with nothing.
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It will definitely be interesting to see how the remainder of the season plays out between the pipes. Ultimately, whatever decision is made will need to be in the best interest of the team as a whole. At the same time, it would be nice to see Budaj get a fair shot to succeed before being thrown under the bus.