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The Tampa Bay Lightning are in the market for a goaltender to back up Andrei Vasilevskiy in his first full season as the Bolts' true number-one netminder.

Luckily, Steve Yzerman will not have to look very far to find the perfect person for the job. After being acquired from the Kings as part of the package that sent Ben Bishop to Los Angeles, Peter Budaj became the best candidate to back up Vasilevskiy for the 2017-18 regular season.

Yes, he is set to become an unrestricted free-agent this summer and could garner a lot of attention from other teams in search of a veteran presence between the pipes to give their main guy the night off. However, this cannot deter Yzerman from doing what he can, within reason, of course, to make sure Budaj stays with the Bolts.

What Budaj brings to the table is exactly what Tampa Bay needs in a goalie to be their young starter's backup. At 34-years-old, he is a seasoned veteran with 357 games of experience and knowledge that he can pass down to the young Vasilevskiy. His numbers are solid when he plays the typical number of games a backup should play and even stepped up in a big way for the Kings last year, having a phenomenal 53 game stint as their started with Quick out.

Due to his stellar showing with the Kings, there is a little worry out there that some team will be willing to overpay him as a short-term starter but I would be quite surprised if that happens. The goalie market this summer is going to be full of gentlemen looking for starting gigs and Budaj should be brought in as a backup, regardless of where.

In no way shape or form, I think the Lightning should overpay for the services of Peter Budaj. However, I do not think they will have to. At his age, playing for four teams in his career has to feel like enough and I think he would prefer to stay put.

With so much to get done this summer, it would be in Yzerman's best interest to fill that backup goalie hole right away with someone who already has a Tampa Bay Lightning sweater.

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