It was evident Ottawa needed some help in goal last week, when Craig Anderson -- who was away from the team following his wife’s cancer diagnosis -- returned to the club in the wake of Andrew Hammond’s injury.
Today, the Sens found a solution.
Ottawa has acquired netminder Mike Condon from Pittsburgh. Per TSN, a fifth-round pick is headed to the Pens.
Condon, 26, appeared in one game this season, stopping all seven shots faced in a 20-minute relief appearance of Marc-Andre Fleury. Condon is best remembered for being thrown into Montreal’s starting gig last year following the Carey Price injury, appearing in 55 games.
The undrafted Princeton product had a tough time with the assignment.
Though he showed flashes at times -- and was often playing behind a disjointed team -- Condon struggled overall, going 21-25-6 with a .903 save percentage and 2.71 GAA. The Habs opted to sign Al Montoya this summer to serve as Price’s new backup.
Despite that, Condon still enjoyed some good times with the Habs. He captured a couple third star of the week honors, and had an impressive win over Boston in the Winter Classic.
If anything, last year showed that Condon probably isn’t ready to carry a starter’s workload. But it will be interesting to see how he does in a backup role in Ottawa.
Even when Hammond healthy & assuming Anderson on roster, OTT plan for foreseeable future is to carry 3 goalies (Anderson, Hammond, Condon).
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) November 2, 2016
For Pittsburgh, this whole scenario played out well. They claimed Condon off waivers just prior to the start of the regular season, giving Fleury a capable No. 2 while Matt Murray rehabbed from his hand injury.
Now, with Murray set to return, the Pens essentially get free draft pick, given Condon was no longer needed at the NHL level.