‘Goalies are weird,’ coach Groulx admits
TEAM’S GOALTENDER COACh has worked with a handful of strange netminders
“A backup (goalie) must treat practice as though he’s playing tomorrow. He knows he’s not, but he has to be ready.” MONTREAL GOALIE COACH PIERRE GROULX
The play of Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is the most obvious byproduct of the work of Pierre Groulx, now in his fourth season as the club’s goaltending coach.
But Groulx also has a strong hand in the performance of Peter Budaj, Price’s backup, as well as Canadiens farmhands with the Hamilton Bulldogs and Wheeling Nailers, respectively, in the AHL and ECHL.
Budaj is the second Habs netminder, behind No. 1 Price, with whom Groulx has worked since arriving here from the Florida Panthers in the summer of 2009.
It would be inaccurate to call Jaroslav Halak a backup to Price; the two goalies split the workload almost evenly in 2009-10 and Halak clearly was No. 1 through a threeround, 19-game playoff run.
Alex Auld, on the other hand, clearly was No. 2 in 2010-11, arriving as a free agent following the June 2010 trade of Halak to St. Louis. Auld appeared in 16 games, Price playing a franchise record 72 that season.
Then Peter Budaj, another free agent, replaced Auld in 2011, signing a two-year contract. He appeared in 17 games last season.
During four seasons with the Panthers, Groulx worked with interstellar traveller Ed Belfour, as well as Tomas Vokoun and Craig Anderson.
Belfour, of course, was more likely to be chased with a butterfly net than use that style in the crease.
“Goalies are weird,” Groulx admitted with a laugh, “but Carey and Peter are a pleasure to work with. Carey has his things, but Eddie is way out there.”
With Budaj, Auld before him and any backup anywhere, Groulx has the special challenge of preparing a netminder for his rare starts. And he takes it personally when those starts don’t measure up to expectations — the goalie’s, or his.
“Being a backup in this city, in any city, is tough,” he said. “There’s a lot of pressure in this city to be a goalie. A backup must treat every practice as though he’s play- ing tomorrow. He knows he’s not, but he has to be ready.”
While Price requires mostly fine-tuning in practice, Groulx will simulate game situations for Budaj, giving him different drills than Price to keep him sharp.
Budaj’s only consecutivegame stretch with the Canadiens thus far came in the final four games of last season, when Price was sidelined with a concussion.
Budaj has played twice this season, making 22 saves in a 5-1 loss in Ottawa on Jan. 30, then making 36 stops in a 5-4 shootout loss in Buffalo on Feb. 7. That’s left him with a pedestrian .866 save percentage and a 4.33 goals-against average.
“Peter’s first two performances haven’t been up to par and I take a lot of responsibility for that,” Groulx said. “He didn’t play up to his potential. It’s very tough for him to step into action and have to perform to a certain level.”
Where the No. 1 goalie can have an off-night, he’ll be back in net immediately with a chance to redeem himself, a luxury the backup doesn’t have.
Groulx will do more video work with Budaj than with Price, the sun around which Budaj and the coach orbit.
The roles of the two goaltenders are clearly defined, Budaj’s supporting role unlike that of Halak, a No. 1 in his own right. Groulx said he likes his backup talking to the starter, perhaps even communicating an in-game word from him as observes up in the press box should the situation require it.
Budaj joined Price and Groulx in Kelowna, B.C., for a week in July for some off-season work. With their own programs to follow, both goalies practised through the lockout out of contact with Groulx, who was “very, very pleased with both guys” when they stepped on the ice for training camp a month ago.
“The three of us are partners,” he said of the unit, even if Budaj has the unenviable task of having to be virtually airtight on the very rare occasions he gets the call.