The Cam Talbot trade market is heating up and likely to come to a head sometime in the very near future.
According to the latest report, the Edmonton Oilers and new GM Peter Chiarelli - who was said to have the blossoming goalie squarely "in his crosshairs" last week - remain the frontrunners to land the young netminder in trade with the New York Rangers.
"Yeah, I would expect it to be Cam Talbot," TSN NHL Insider Darren Dreger said of whether he expects Chiarelli to make a deal for a goalie prior to the draft, via TodaysSlapShot.com. "In fact, I would have thought based on the information that I had gathered last Thursday that a deal could have happened as early as the weekend and it didn't. So now it's Tuesday and Cam Talbot is still with the New York Rangers."
Chiarelli has his work cut out for him in Edmonton, but it's likely that he's identified the goaltending position as one that requires an immediate upgrade. Last season's pairing of Viktor Fasth and Ben Scrivens provided little in the way of even adequate play and with the increased importance of the position thanks to the upswing in league-wide goal-scoring due to rule changes which favor offense, landing a netminder capable of carrying the brunt of the load and playing with consistency is vitally important for every NHL franchise.
Unfortunately for Chiarelli though, it seems the Oilers aren't the only team to have set their sights firmly on Talbot.
"He's the focus, I'm told, of the Oilers and the Buffalo Sabres, but they still have to find a way to get a deal done," said Dreger. "I'm not certain of what has been offered from Edmonton's perspective. I'm told that there was a team that offered two second round picks for Cam Talbot and that didn't close the deal."
The Sabres were also forced to endure some of the NHL's worst goaltending last year and, as part of their razing of the roster, dealt both Jhonas Enroth and Michal Neuvirth away prior to the trade deadline. With a new head coach, Dan Bylsma, onboard and GM Tim Murray already having shown with the Evander Kane deal that he's willing to make waves, it wouldn't at all be surprising to see Talbot land in Buffalo.
According to Dreger, the fact that there's been no deal yet is not the fault of Chiarelli or Murray or any of the other interested parties - the Rangers simply know the value of the piece they currently possess and are looking to garner the best deal possible, meaning the final cost is likely to be difficult to swallow.
"He's got another year left at 1.45," said Dreger. "He's proven that he can be an excellent 1A goaltender. He came in long term in place of Henrik Lundqvist last season, who had some injury issues, obviously. And he proved that it appears he's ready to be a starter."
