The Habs, who are sorely lacking in the goaltending prospect department, took
a step towards improving that on Wednesday with the signing of Mike Condon to a
two year, entry level contract beginning next season. Condon spent the
past four seasons at Princeton in the NCAA and took over the starting role for
the Tigers this past season and posted a 8-11-4 record with a strong 2.48 GAA
and a .923 SV%. He was named second-team All-Ivy League for his efforts.
Upon the completion of his college season, the 6’2 netminder signed a minor
league deal with the Ontario of the ECHL, affiliate of Los Angeles. He
played in four games with the Reign (going 3-1 with a 1.48 GAA and a .943 SV%)
before signing a tryout deal with Minnesota’ AHL affiliate in Houston. The
Wild had dealt one of their goalies at the trade deadline so there was a spot
for him to play as the backup. He got into five regular season games with
the Aeros (3-0 with a 2.39 GAA and .919 SV%) before getting an even bigger
break.
With the goalie woes the Wild have faced since the beginning of the
postseason (starter Niklas Backstrom went down in the warmup for Game 1), the 23
year old Condon was thrust into the starters’ role for the Aeros in the first
round of the Calder Cup playoffs. He went 1-2 in those games (Houston lost
in five in the first round) but a subpar game five effort (seven goals allowed)
ballooned his postseason numbers to a 3.69 GAA and a .909 SV%.
Financial deals were not disclosed by the Habs as always but preliminary
reports suggested that he would be receiving a max deal. For someone
signing at this time of the year, the most salary a player on an entry level
deal can receive $925,000 which includes the maximum signing bonus (10%) of $92,500.
Any signing bonuses beyond that would take the contract anywhere between
$925,000 and $3.775 million.
Career Stats
