There were no surprises in the opening matchup of the second round in the Pierre Dorion’s Best Trade Tournament. J-G Pageau’s departure cruised to an easy win, and further solidified itself as a contender in this contest. Let’s get to today’s matchup between two moves that brought in short-term goaltending help:
This was a perfect example of pulling the trigger on a deal at the right time, and getting a little bit lucky in the process. Mike Condon is, for all intents and purposes, a name that won’t be remembered in the NHL history books. Middling career numbers will do that to a goaltender. Even so, acquiring him turned out to be a brilliant stroke of genius on the part of Dorion back in 2016. Condon filled in for Craig Anderson that year, and was a major reason that the team was able to stay in contention down the stretch into the spring of 2017. Without him posting five shutouts and respectable stats in that half-season worth of starts, the Senators likely wouldn’t have had the opportunity to go on their entertaining playoff run.
Trade: McKenna, Pyatt --> VAN
Out: Mike McKenna, Tom Pyatt, 2019 6th Round Pick
In: Anders Nilsson, Darren Archibald
This trade was a great example of turning a whole lot of nothing into something decent. The package that Ottawa shipped out in this deal brought back a goaltender who really solidified things in the crease for this hockey team in the short-term. He posted a .914 save percentage to end last season, and a .908 save percentage in pre-injury action this year. There were many nights early on in 2019-20 when Nilsson looked like the only thing separating the Senators from the Red Wings in the standings. Between the Condon deal and this one, Dorion seems to have an eye for picking up reasonably competent goaltending at rock bottom prices.
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