The Los Angeles Kings have acquired goalie Peter Budaj from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for center Andy Andreoff.
For the Kings, the only NHL goalie on the books for 2018-19 besides starter Jonathan Quick was Jack Campbell, who only played five games last season and had mediocre numbers in the AHL. Budaj is a rental and a veteran that has been the Kings\’ backup before, and was really good when Quick was injured in 2016-17. While he had a rough 2017-18 season, he\’s shown that he\’s better than that, and that he can be more reliable than Campbell.
Budaj, who turns 36 in a week, had a .876 SV% and a 3.76 GAA in eight games for the Lightning last season. In his NHL career for the Lightning, Kings, Montreal Canadiens ans Colorado Avalanche, Budaj has a .904 SV% with a GAA of 2.69 in 365 games.
For the Bolts, they currently have 13 forwards on the roster besides Andreoff, but Chris Kunitz is a UFA, three others are RFAs, and some of them (hint, hint, Cory Conacher and Adam Erne) have never played more than 60 games in a season. While they are thin on goalies, Louis Domingue can be their backup, and they can sign a third goalie for the AHL squad. Andreoff can be a fourth line winger or center for the Bolts this year.
Andreoff, 27, scored three goals and six assists for nine points in 45 games for the Kings this past season. In his NHL career, all in Los Angeles, Andreoff has scored 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points in 159 games.
I think this is an even trade. The kings needed a backup goalie, and the Lightning needed a depth forward, and they got what they needed.
CarterHud 