Lightning trade injured Callahan to Senators for Condon
The Ottawa Senators have traded goaltender Mike Condon and a sixth-round pick in 2020 to the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward Ryan Callahan and a fifth-round pick in 2020, the team announced Tuesday.
In June, Callahan was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, which led doctors to recommend that he should no longer play professional hockey. He has one year left on his contract, which carries a $5.8-million cap hit, and plans to retire once it expires, according to The Athletic's Joe Smith.
Before the trade, the Lightning had planned to place the 34-year-old Callahan on long-term injured reserve. He registered 17 points in 52 games last season.
Condon, who played just two games in the NHL last year, has one year left on his deal with a $2.4-million cap hit. The 29-year-old owns a 2.79 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage across 129 career games.
In what's been a common theme for the cash-strapped Senators this offseason, the trade increases their cap hit but decreases their salary expenses. Ottawa is now $4.06 million above the cap floor following the trade.
Financial implications of the Callahan trade for the Ottawa #Senators:
- CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) July 30, 2019
Cap hit change: +$3,400,000
Salary expenses: -$2,060,000
This trade helps keep the Senators above the lower limit, while also decreasing the salary expenses.https://t.co/xIbYAuYoMJ
For their part, the Lightning have a bit of a logjam between the pipes. Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy is the unquestioned starter and veteran Curtis McElhinney was brought in to be the backup, leaving Louis Domingue and Condon with unclear futures.
Assuming both Domingue and Condon will be assigned to the minors, the Lightning will have just over $11 million in projected cap space with two unsigned RFAs, Brayden Point and Adam Erne.
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