Senators failed to learn from Hammond mistake by rewarding Condon
No good deed goes unpunished.
The adage held true when the Ottawa Senators seemingly gave a just reward to goaltender Andrew Hammond after his spectacular run as a replacement for injured goaltenders Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner in the second half of the 2014-15 NHL season. Hammond went 20-1-2 in 23 starts and earned the Senators a berth into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The three-year contract worth $4.05 million immediately handed to Hammond seemed fair following his miraculous run. His play with the Senators that season overshadowed the fact he was an undrafted goalie who had posted a save percentage of just .898 through 25 games with the AHL's Binghamton Senators and just had his first taste of NHL success.
Since signing his extension, Hammond has posted a .906 SV% and a 2.83 goals-against average over 25 NHL games in two years. The contract is set to expire at the end of the 2017-18 campaign; one which he is expected to spend with the AHL's Belleville Senators if he remains with the Senators organization.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
So it's fair for the three-year, $7.2-million contract awarded by the Senators to Mike Condon, the savior of the team's 2016-17 season during Anderson's personal leaves, to cause some alarm. It's a seemingly just reward for his play, which saw him start a franchise-record 27 consecutive games and post five shutouts while helping Ottawa make the postseason.
But in the salary cap era of the NHL and the business of winning, contracts can't be handed out based on feel-good stories. Condon is still a 27-year-old undrafted goaltender who came over from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a November trade, marking his third team in two years. He entered the 2016-17 season with a career save percentage of just .903 through 55 games.
In getting a head start on free agency and re-signing Condon, the Senators failed to see what the offseason market value will be for career backup goaltenders. Instead, they rewarded a goalie with no precedent for high-quality play based on a small sample size of success and an organization-wide feeling of gratitude.
The same thing they did just two years prior.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
When the Senators re-signed Hammond, his role was known to be set as the backup to Anderson. He had demonstrated an ability to play well for a prolonged stretch of games, but it was a task the club hoped he wouldn't be handed again.
With Condon, the Senators made an early bet on his level of play sustaining beyond Anderson's potential upcoming departure.
Hammond's and Anderson's contracts are set to expire in the summer of 2018, which means Condon is the lone NHL-experienced goaltender signed beyond the upcoming season. His salary increases in each of the three years, as he'll be due $3 million for the 2019-20 season, though he'll have a cap hit of a more reasonable $2.4 million.
Here's a look at goalies with contracts similar to Condon's:
| Name | Team | Cap Hit (millions) |
|---|---|---|
| Cam Ward | CAR | $3.3 |
| Martin Jones | SJ | $3.0 |
| Eddie Lack | CGY | $2.75 |
| Michal Neuvirth | PHI | $2.5 |
| Mike Condon | OTT | $2.4 |
| John Gibson | ANA | $2.3 |
| Andrew Hammond | OTT | $1.35 |
Should Condon have more success during the 2017-18 campaign and the Senators choose to move on from a then-37-year-old Anderson after the final year of his current deal, Condon will provide Ottawa with one of the best-value starting goaltenders in the NHL.
Or, he'll follow Hammond's path, struggle as a backup, force the Senators to re-sign an aging Anderson or find a suitable alternative as a starting goaltender, and reduce the team's cap space and available internal budget for the next two seasons.
The former is a big ask for a goaltender who has just one quality 40-game sample of NHL netminding.
Cap concerns aren't an immediate issue for the Senators, as they have a projected $11.33 million in cap space for 2017-18, with restricted free-agent forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau the summer's top priority. The issue could come in 2019-20 when Condon is due the largest share of his contract and when captain Erik Karlsson is set to become a free agent.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Condon demonstrated the ability to serve as a top-tier backup capable of handling starting duties for a large share of an 82-game season for the Sens. He looked every bit the part of an NHL goaltender while endearing himself to management, players, and the entire fan base. He, along with Anderson, was one the season's top feeling-inducing stories.
But so was Hammond.