Playing career

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 prior to playing for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Toronto St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

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 November 3, 2007, in a 4-3 home loss against the Vancouver Canucks.

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.

On June 29, 2009, Budaj was re-signed by the Avalanche to a one-year contract for the 2009-10 season. 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. Budaj finally made his first appearance of the season on November 4, against the Phoenix Coyotes. He stopped 28 of 29 shots and backstopped the Avs to a 4-1 victory. Budaj made his second post season appearance on April 22, 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.

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

Budaj signed a two-year contract worth $2.3 million with the Montreal Canadiens on July 1, 2011. 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 April 10, 2013.

On October 5, 2014, Budaj and Patrick Holland were traded to the Winnipeg Jets in return for Eric Tangradi. He was waived less than a day later. On the following day, he was assigned to the St. John's IceCaps, Winnipeg's American Hockey League affiliate, after clearing waivers. 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.

As a free agent from the Jets, Budaj was unable to secure an NHL contract and on August 28, 2015, agreed to sign a try-out contract to attend the Los Angeles Kings training camp. On October 9, 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.

On February 11, 2016, he was recalled by the Los Angeles Kings on an emergency basis.

Mask

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 the back of his masks. In 2008, Budaj began wearing a mask featuring the character Altaïr from the popular video game Assassin's Creed. The mask primarily worn by Budaj during the 2008-09 season features a burgundy colored version of the comic book hero The Hulk, 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. 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.

Personal life

Peter and his wife Taylor have one son, Peter Jr., who was born in July 2010.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season										Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T/OT	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		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				296	124	107	36	16,343	752	11	2.76	.903		7	0	2	199	17	0	5.13	.843

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
2000	Slovakia	WJC18		5	2	3	0	249	13	0	3.13
2001	Slovakia	WJC		4	1	3	0	239	16	0	4.01
2002	Slovakia	WJC		4	1	0	2	212	11	1	3.11
2006	Slovakia	OG		3	2	1	0	179	6	0	2.01
2008	Slovakia	WC		1	0	1	0	59	3	0	3.03
2010	Slovakia	WC		6	2	4	0	282	13	0	2.76
2014	Slovakia	OG		1	0	0	0	27	2	0	4.53
Senior totals				11	4	6	0	547	24	0	2.67

Awards and achievements

• 2001-02 OHL Second All-Star Team
• 2006-07 NHL YoungStars Game

[ Source: Wikipedia ]