New York Rangers GM Glen Sather is likely somewhere in a Las Vegas hotel, rubbing his hands together and muttering "excellent" to himself over and over and over.
Sather is currently fielding offers for a player in netminder Cam Talbot who has become the hottest trade commodity on the NHL market at present.
Rumors have swirled that the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres are hot on Talbot's trail and compensation has been speculated to fall anywhere from a second-round pick and a player to a pick in the mid-first of the 2015 NHL Draft later this week.
We got a glimpse into Sather's thinking Tuesday when a report emerged that he had already rejected a trade offer for his young goaltender that involved two second-round draft picks. Now, we may have been given an even deeper look into Sather's mind as a more recent report alleges that another less discussed option remains very much on the table for Sather - actually keeping Talbot.
"NYR continue to mull over multiple offers for Cam Talbot. Keeping him remains an option, but strong interest makes that unlikely," Darren Dreger of TSN tweeted Wednesday.
It seems, per Dreger, that Talbot's value as a trade piece will likely trump his value as a spot starter and key backup to King Henrik, but should a significant enough trade offer not present itself, Sather very well could reverse course and keep the up-and-coming Talbot between the Rangers pipes.
Considering Lundqvist recently turned 33 and was forced to significant time in the 2014-15 regular season thanks to a "vascular injury," holding onto Talbot certainly makes sense. He's just entering his prime at 27 and in 36 games in place of King Henrik this past season, posted a very promising 2.21 goals against average and .926 save percentage.
Of course, the notion of keeping him could simply be posturing on Sather's part, but with the goalie position holding the immense importance that it does in today's NHL, it really wouldn't be crazy for the Rangers GM to hold onto a player who could very well be the heir apparent to an aging, if still highly effective, Lundqvist.
No matter what ends up happening with Talbot though, Rangers fans shouldn't expect a resolution to come today. Per Dreger, this is likely to drag at least through tomorrow and potentially into the first round of the draft on Friday.
"Don't expect anything will happen with Talbot before Glen Sather heads to Florida tomorrow and meets with his staff to discuss all options."
