At the end of the day, a 3-year deal was not tabled by the Ottawa Senators and forward Erik Condra headed down south to join the Tampa Bay Lightning—cup contenders in their prime.
Condra is an extremely valuable piece and fits well in Tampa’s system in terms of depth. It was late in the season and during the Senators’ playoff stretch where Condra became an extremely reliable 3rd line player, as he led a trio of youngsters that included Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Curtis Lazar.
Now, he’s off to Tampa, at an AAV of 1.25 million for 3 years.
Erik Condra gets a $1.25M AAV on three-year deal from #TBLightning.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 1, 2015
It’s a deal that makes sense for Condra. He joins a roster in Tampa that is among the league’s best and he immediately becomes one of their best penalty killers. It’s a favourable deal for Tampa and their lineup in terms of top end talent and depth looks even better.
Here’s how Tampa projects to line up next season.
"Killorn – Stamkos – CallahanPalat – Johnson – KucherovDrouin – Filpulla – NamestnikovCondra – Boyle – Brown"
That’s some incredible depth, especially in the top 9. The Lightning have the best second line in the league and it stretches all throughout their lineup, even down to the 4th line. That’s where Condra is projected to play as he’ll likely act as a replacement for winger, Brendan Morrow.
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While you can understand why the Senators didn’t match a 3-year offer on a bottom 6 forward, it’s frustrating to see considering that’s exactly what players Chris Neil, Colin Greening and Zack Smith received as they remain on the Senators’ roster.
As for how the Senators project, the move of Condra allows a youngster to compete for a spot, with players Shane Prince and Matt Puempel projecting as the player to take the spot.
"MacArthur – Turris – StoneHoffman – Zibanejad – RyanPuempel – Pageau – LazarMichalek – Smith – Chiasson"
Chris Neil remains a 15th forward or is dealt, while Colin Greening not receiving a buyout means the Senators play out his contract, and not in the NHL.
This move isn’t going to kill the Senators.
However, keeping Condra around would have been a nice move to make. Depending on who has the stronger camp, one of Puempel or Prince will likely get that third line spot. Either player would slot nicely beside Lazar and Pageau, as any combination of players would provide speed and some offensive upside for an NHL third line.
Next: Comparisons For The Senators' 1st, 2nd Round Picks