Seriously, FML. You all know what it stands for and now I'm using it.

So the Avs, being in their WONDERFUL cost-cutting mode that's going to cost us Ian Laperriere have made two HUGE mistakes.

Mistake number one, thank you very much Francois Giguere, was the signing of Darcy Tucker an atrocious two year deal worth 2 and a quarter million dollars per year. Mistake 1.5 is keeping him around for a second year and not buying him out. This is a guy that gave exactly 0 effort, backed up to the pay window and sped off to the bench faster than you could say "bust."

The second mistake, one which I believe is Shermans first undoubtable mistake, is the resigning of Budaj, as Adrian Dater of the Denver Post reports. Now, a younger guy with more upside in Tyler Weiman will rot down in Lake Erie ($20 we sign Marty Biron) while a less talented Peter Budaj will sit on the bench. Budaj is a nice guy but so was Brian Griese. But would you really keep Brian Griese if there was a better option? The only reason to do it is if and I repeat IF, the Avs miss out on Gustavsson. Otherwise, it'll be a monster mistake (pun intended).

Funny how the Avs who acknowledged that they are, in fact, in cost-cutting mode, can give $1.25 million to a guy who is one the biggest reasons we just drafted Matt Duchene and not to a guy like Ian Laperriere who is one of the biggest reasons we weren't drafting John Tavares.

Just despicable, disgusting and atrocious. I've stuck up for the Avs for quite a bit, the aforementioned Tucker signing, the fleecing in the trade market the past three years, the Scott Hannan signing but this one is indefensible. Unless Peter Budaj got an injection of the Super Goaltender syrum the Avs have been spending money on instead of heart players and goaltending, there's absolutely zero reason to believe that, with Peter Budaj, we'll be anywhere near a playoff team.

Instead, to wit, I submit that the Avs are now a wonderful candidate for the services of Taylor Hall in next year's draft. As long as signings like this one keep happening, that's all we can really expect.

My only question for the Avs: Why? Please, with a straight face, tell me and the rest of Avs nation why you thought Peter Budaj was worth the reported $1.25 million (or even the league minimum) and someone like Ian Laperriere wasn't worth even the $1.15 million he made last year?

The first thing people will see about the signing of Peter Budaj is that his one-year deal is for $1.25 million...more than he made last year. Honestly, I just don't get it either. The Avalanche had a perfect opportunity to purge last season's terrible tandem, then move one of either Weiman or Bacashihua to the backup position and keep developing some of their weaker prospects. But instead, they gave more $$ to a goalie that really isn't going anywhere with his game. Now we have to NHL-ready goalies having to spend another season in the AHL.

Now Budaj in his own right is a very athletic goalie with a tremendous amount of skill. We have seen him make some amazing saves and put together some amazing performances. But one thing I know about his game is that he does not have the mental toughness to be a starter and win 35-40 games. He often gives up goals very early in games or at the most inopportune moments. He can make the extremely hard saves look routine with his athleticism but his lack of focus and mental toughness causes him to miss some very easy shots...and unfortunately they are the shots that cost the Avalanche momentum and points in the standing.

There are a few reasons why Colorado ultimately decided to offer this contract to Budaj. First of all, $1.25 million is actually a pretty solid amount for his lifetime stats and his abilities. Again, very few NHL GM's understand the mental aspects of the goaltending position, so Greg Sherman and company probably see Budaj as a youngster with a lot of promise, so he's worthy of that amount.

Secondly, culture, connection and the type of person you are has way too much of an impact when it comes to playing in Colorado. They care more about where you are from and who you know as opposed to potential or mental toughness. Budaj was probably re-signed so quickly because he's a good, likeable kid that does good things in the community. He represents the classy Avalanche organization in a good light and he's an energetic kid that loves to play and works hard in practice.

Unfortunately, Budaj's lack of mental toughness will never allow him to become the elite #1 goalie Colorado needs. He tenses up at the wrong times, his rebound control is all over the place and he does not settle into games very easily. How many games last season did Budaj struggle in the first five minutes of the game? It was not until late in the first period or into the second period that Budaj would "settle in" and show the confidence needed to win games.

At other times, Budaj would make one monsterous save and it would set him on fire and he would be unstoppable...until he allowed one weak goal. And that was the biggest problem with Budaj...his confidence and consistency wavered and weakened with every single goal he allowed. It would rise and dip way too often...making it harder and harder for his teammates to feel confident playing in front of him. In that manner, Budaj has failed to mature in the last two seasons and now that he's going to be a backup to another goalie, his development will only be hindered even more. Now he won't be playing as many games and seeing as many shots, so the inconsistency will continue.

The good thing is that Colorado only signed him to a one-year deal. Yep, the writing is on the wall for Budaj. He either grows up and shows some consistency next year, or he'll have to find another team to play for.

Overall, I don't like this move by Colorado...not because they gave him $1.25, but because they could have taken a huge step in the right direction of developing their goalie prospects within their own system while replacing Budaj with a much more adequate prospect in Weiman or Bacashihua. I've said it before and I'll say it again...there's no way to know if you have an elite NHL goalie unless you give them a shot to play a few games in the NHL. Letting them rot in the AHL only wastes time and space.

As Mr. Goldman states, he's a good backup but nothing more. I still don't like the move. It is just bad management to give this kind of money to a guy that had the kind of year that he had.

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