Former Montreal Canadiens' goalie Peter BudajCHRISTINNE MUSCHI/Reuters
The Winnipeg Jets have re-assigned goaltender Peter Budaj to their minor league team in St. John's.
The 32-year-old was acquired just two days ago in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens with the hope that he would be the veteran back-up to starter Ondrej Pavelec. However, the Jets opted to go with the goaltending duo of Michael Hutchinson and Pavelec to start the season.
Budaj, who has one year left at US$1.4-million, is a veteran of nine NHL seasons with Colorado and Montreal. This will be his first trip back to the minors since the 2004-05 season when he played with the Hershey Bears.
The 32-year-old Slovak has a 124-107-36 career record with a 2.76 goals-against average, .903 save percentage and 11 shutouts. Budaj had a 10-8-3 mark last season in Montreal with a 2.51 GAA and .909 save percentage.