The Goalie Conundrum - Part 3 - Trade Deadline Edition

So after about a week or so of mostly dead air and just waiting for the ball to drop on the trade deadline front, a goalie deal has been struck, though just not one many expected.  The goalie that many are expecting to be moved is Bobrovsky (who seems to be getting kicked off the force).  I personally don’t think he will be moved until the offseason as he will be a UFA this summer.  Since all the contending teams seem the have starting goalies, I can only see him being move in the offseason for conditional picks at most so a team can try to negotiate with him before free agency begins.  But it seems that he and Panarin are going to be a packaged deal, so even then it is unlikely.  But the goalies who were moved were by teams I previously talked about in my original Goalie Conundrum posts (You can see Part One here and Part Two here).

Stolarz from Philly, Talbot from Edmonton

The two teams I am talking about here are the Philadelphia Flyers and the Edmonton Oilers.  Both teams have had up and down seasons in their own ways as well as controversy off the ice and just pure craziness in goal.  But late (or early depending on how you want to look at it) the other night the Oilers sent Cam Talbot packing to the Flyers for Anthony Stolarz.  Both players and teams seem to have their own different reasons for making this move so let’s start by looking at Cam Talbot.

Cam Talbot Career Stats via HockeyReference.com

Talbot is a 31-year-old goalie he is set to be a UFA after this season.  He was originally a back up with the Rangers for two season and he was an absolute stud there where he totaled a .931 SV% and a 2.00 GAA.  Those are amazing numbers.  But ever since then he has been on a steady decline and this year in 31 games, he has a .893 SV% and a 3.36 GAA.  Playing on a team that is supposed to make the playoffs (which let’s not kid ourselves, that isn’t happening), that is truly back breaking.  But I won’t put it all on him.  The problems in Edmonton go far beyond just what’s happening in net.

Back just three weeks ago all hell started to break loose in Edmonton.  In a 24-hour period they signed Mikko Koskinen to a 3-year extension, basically sealing the fate of Cam Talbot that he was going to be a goner one way or another.  Then the very next night, in the middle of a game they were losing, they fired their General Manager.  So, it is safe to say that Talbot is happy to be out of that situation.  We have further proof of that by way of his contract.  Talbot has a modified No-Trade Clause in his contract were he only has 10 teams he would willing accept a trade too, generally player submit these lists prior to the start of the season.  Well Pierre LeBrun of TSN has reported that the Flyers were originally not one of those 10 teams meaning he waived the clause allowing the trade to be consummated.

On the Philly front, Talbot will be the 8^th goalie to play for them this season, that is an NHL record.  The most important factor may be that he has become a mentor to rookie goaltender Carter Hart, who took over starting duties in Philly about two months ago.  The two have bonded in offseason training sessions together, which is likely one big part of why he accepted to waive his No-Trade clause to go to Philly.  Another is both Brian Elliot and Michal Neuvirth are both on IR and unlikely to be resigned this summer, both are set to be UFA’s. With both gone and Hart taking the starting role, Talbot will likely be able to secure a nice contract extension with the Flyers to be their back up and possibly split time with the young prodigy.  Being 32 when next season starts, I could see him signing a 3-year deal at a little under his current salary, maybe in the $3.5-4 Million range.

Anthony Stolarz Career Stats via HockeyReference.com

In Edmonton they’re getting a younger goalie (25-years-old) with a lot of size and some pretty good upside.  Stolarz comes in at 6’6’’ which means he is just taking up a lot of net, but he is set to become a potential UFA as well this season.  Due to his age and amount he has played in his career, the Oilers must play him in at least 10 games this season for 30 minutes or more, if they do that then he will become a RFA instead.  That is beneficial for Edmonton because they’ll hold his rights and likely be able to sign him to an extension and have a secure back up goalie for the next few years. 

At least that will be one stable position in Edmonton as they will likely being going back into some sort of a rebuild mode after this season.  But both goalies they will have are truly unproven at the NHL level, as of now they both have only played a combined 55 games in their NHL Careers.  So, while they’ll have to “solid” goalies signed, it may not be enough to help them through this rough patch they’re going through, no matter how hard McDavid skates. 

Now that we're only a week away from the trade deadline we are expecting things to pick up like crazy.  Teams are trying to make a push and show their managers they can contend and make the playoffs which is going to determine who is going to be buying and selling.  I know for sure that these two teams are not done moving players and reshaping their rosters.  Edmonton even made a second move the same day as this trade acquiring Sam Gagner for Ryan Spooner.  And we've already seen players I have mentioned in trade scenarios be moved (Boyle, Muzzin, and Brassard), and with the competition ramping up we're going to be in for an exciting week!