"Like everyone else on the Avalanche's 2008-09 team, he was a disappointment — the No. 1 goalie on the last-place team in the Western Conference. He started only 11 games the next season, relegated almost exclusively to the bench.

But through it all, Peter Budaj and the Avalanche have stuck by one another. It may come as a surprise, but Budaj has been part of the Avs' organization since 2001, when he was drafted in the second round. Only Milan Hejduk (1994) and Adam Foote (1989) have longer tenures from a franchise draftee standpoint.

It might also surprise people to know Budaj is still only 28 years old.

Budaj hopes it isn't a surprise to anyone that he still dreams of being a No. 1 goalie in the NHL again. With a knee injury to starter Craig Anderson, Budaj has his first real chance in the last 1 1/2 years to show he is capable of more than just a spot start.

"I'm not satisfied with just being a backup. I don't want to sound like this is the end road for me, that I want to be a backup forever," Budaj said.

"I don't think I'm that old, and there's many goalies who become a No. 1 at 32 or 33 years old. I want to show the Avalanche and the rest of the NHL I can still be a No. 1 goalie.""