Mike Condon has been placed on waivers by the Montreal Canadiens on the final day to do so ahead of the NHL regular season.
#canadiens Mike Condon on waivers. #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) October 10, 2016
Condon was put in an impossible situation for the Montreal Canadiens following Carey Price’s season-ending injury last year. The rookie goaltender won the backup position in camp over Dustin Tokarski, but once Price aggravated his knee and missed the rest of the year, Condon was thrust into the starter role.
And it wasn’t pretty. Despite some obvious strategic flaws in the Habs’ defensive structure, the fact of the matter is that Condon wasn’t up to the task.
It’s perhaps unfair to judge him on his performance as a number-one goaltender, seeing as he had never started more than 48 games during a regular season in his hockey career. Truth be told, he was signed as a backup, and even that was a bit of a stretch considering his experience.
That being said, the numbers paint an ugly picture. Among all goaltenders that started 30 games or more, only Eddie Lack’s save percentage (.901) was lower than Condon’s (.903). His goals-saved-above-average stat was also second worse in the league (-16.86). He did not look good in pre-season action over the last few weeks, and the Canadiens will count on someone else to be Price’s backup this season.
Montreal decided to shore up their goaltending by signing veteran Al Montoya in the off-season. Last year he posted a .919 save percentage, and saved 2.77 goals above the league average.
If Condon clears waivers, he will be assigned to the St. John’s IceCaps, where he’ll battle it out with NCAA-standout Charlie Lindgren for the starting job. This would also have a trickle-down effect, which may reach all the way to Zachary Fucale and the Brampton Beast in the ECHL.
