Following their loss to Carolina on Friday night, the Oilers pulled the trigger on trading goalie Cam Talbot, sending him to Philadelphia in exchange for netminder Anthony Stolarz. Both teams have announced the swap.
This move had been speculated over the past couple of days although it was believed that the Flyers preferred to send veteran Brian Elliott in the deal instead. Edmonton was facing a cap crunch with the pending return of defenseman Andrej Sekera as they needed to clear some room to activate him off LTIR. This move does that and more as the deal frees up just over $3.4MM in full-season cap space so when Sekera is indeed activated, they’ll still have a couple million at their disposal.
Beyond that, the deal is intriguing for both sides. In Talbot, the Flyers acquire what should be an upgrade for their backup position over Elliott and the oft-injured Michal Neuvirth which will help in the short term as they can ease Carter Hart’s workload down the stretch if they so desire. It will also allow them to get a look at the pending unrestricted free agent to see if he’s the right fit to work with Hart for the next few seasons. The two goalies know each other well already so there’s a good chance that this played into the decision.
Talbot will need to fare a lot better with Philadelphia than he did with Edmonton if he wants to come close to matching his current AAV of $4.167MM though. He lost the number one role to Mikko Koskinen while his GAA (3.36) and SV% (.893) are the worst of his career. However, his career numbers are much more impressive with a 2.59 GAA and a .915 SV% in 284 games between the Oilers and Rangers and the Flyers are hoping he’ll be able to return to that type of level. When he does suit up in a game for them, he will be the eighth different goalie they’ve used this season which will set an NHL record.
As for the Oilers, they too get to evaluate a potential fit for next season in beyond in Stolarz. The 25-year-old has battled injury issues over the past two seasons, playing in just 21 games combined over that span (including his stints in the AHL and ECHL). He was inconsistent with the Flyers this season, posting a 3.33 GAA with a .902 SV% in a dozen appearances and it’s likely he’s going to see a lot of action with Edmonton down the stretch.
Stolarz has to play at least 30 minutes in 10 of Edmonton’s remaining 25 games in order to avoid qualifying for Group Six unrestricted free agency this summer. Accordingly, expect Ken Hitchcock to be calling his name early and often in the weeks to come. If he reaches that target and becomes a restricted free agent once again, the Oilers will owe him a qualifying offer of just over $799K.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
darn, was really hoping to keep Stolarz around. Figured he could be a pretty good backup.
Wow 8 goalies in a season, that has got to sting in all the wrong places.
Feel like the Oilers just finessed us.They get the younger,cheaper goalie with some future potential.Flyers get the older,more expensive goalie,who had 1 good year,2 seasons ago.And they were the team that was desperate to make a move,but it don’t feel like it.
the move doesn’t make a lot of sense for the flyers. Their evaluation of goalies has been awful. Hextall the first go around was good and everything between him and Carter Hart has been terrible. Aging, overpriced, past their prime goalies. Did they make this move thinking Talbot can be a decent backup or because the kid needs a daddy figure on the team so he feels special in in net. The move does nothing to help the flyers for when and if they can compete.
I know Darren Dreger keeps saying that Talbot and Hart know each other well, but I’d like to know how they know each other well aside from being Canadian and in the goaltending fraternity. Any thoughts?
I don’t understand people who don’t like this deal. It’s crazy to pretend that Stolarz was some valuable player. He was gone at the end of this year. Talbot has a actual history of being very good goalie on the NHL level. And we know Hart is the future but he’s not ready to play 60 games a year.
Mark, i think they trained together in the offseason…
My problem with this deal,from the Flyers perspective,really has nothing to do with the players involved.With 25 games to go,the backup goalies are gonna affect 5,6 games.But the Flyers are paying about 450k for that.And the Oilers needed the cap space to get Sekera back onto their roster… From the Oilers perspective,its a win all the way around.They get Sekera,plus extra cap space,and they get a 25year old former 1st round goalie to audition for the rest of the year.Flyers obviously have Hart,and Stolie has had injuries,but he has still shown potential.
Why are they saying elliot is so bad? His numbers look solid?
Thank you!
You may be right long term, but this move is more about what they need short term to bridge them to when Hart can take the reigns fully.
Makes total sense. Veteran presence who worked closely with Hart over the summer. He’ll know what his role will be
Stolie the goalie has 19 games of NHL experience under his belt, has dealt with injuries and is a RFA at the end of the season
They’ll probably resign Talbot
I keep saying 450k…that’s what it would’ve been with Elliott…Flyers are actually eating about 900k in this move.
Elliott for Talbot would’ve made sense.Both are unrestricted free agents,and the Oilers would’ve gotten their cap relief.And I still think the Flyers should’ve gotten something else there,for giving the Oilers the cap relief they needed.The fact that the Oilers are getting a 25 year old goalie to audition,and possibly groom,is an all around win for them.
its crazy to pretend he was valuable? please, explain why he had no value.
I think the salary relief,that the Oilers needed,was the valuable part of the deal.Overall,both goalies probably fit better with their new teams.But because of the Oilers cap situation,I think the Flyers should’ve held out for a draft pick.Getting Sekera back will have the most impact from this trade,and that’s if Stolarz don’t end up their starter.